The South Korean government on Wednesday (June 8) expressed concern about North Korea producing plutonium fuel for nuclear bombs.
It came hours after a senior State Department official said North Korea had restarted production of plutonium fuel, showing that it plans to pursue its nuclear weapons program in defiance of international sanctions.
“Our government is seriously worried about it (North Korea’s plutonium production) and is closely monitoring its movement. We’re also closely working together with the United States about it,” said South Korean unification ministry spokesman, Jeong Joon-hee, at a regular news briefing in Seoul.
Pyongyang vowed in 2013 to restart all nuclear facilities, including the main reactor and the smaller plant at Yongbyon, which was shut down in 2007 as part of an international disarmament-for-aid deal that later collapsed.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has no access to North Korea and mainly monitors its activities by satellite, said last year it had seen signs of a resumption of activity at Yongbyon.
North Korea has come under tightening international pressure over its nuclear weapons program, including tougher U.N. sanctions adopted in March backed by its lone major ally China, following its most recent nuclear blast and ballistic missile tests.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016
