TOKYO — North Korea has made rapid progress on the construction of a nuclear reactor, with work nearly complete on the outside walls of the building, according to an analysis of recent satellite images.
Because the reactor building hasn’t yet been loaded with sensitive nuclear equipment, the plant might not be operational for two or three more years, one analyst said. But the accelerated pace of construction, coming one year after North Korea disclosed the plant publicly, lends credence to Pyongyang’s claim that it has the materials and know-how to build nuclear plants on its own.
It is less clear, though, whether North Korea wants the plant as a power source or as a decoy for its weapons program. With a completed light-water reactor, North Korea would pose the same problem as Iran: Its officials can claim that their uranium-enrichment program is being used to fuel the reactor, not to produce weapons-grade uranium for nuclear bombs.
The Washington Post
