N Korea restarts main nuclear complex

Song Jung-a in Seoul 

A man watches a news report at a railway station in Seoul on September 15, 2015, on the confirmation from North Korea that the nuclear reactor seen as the country's main source of weapons-grade plutonium had resumed normal operations, raising a further red flag amid growing signs the North may be considering a long-range rocket launch next month in violation of UN resolutions. North Korea mothballed the Yongbyon reactor in 2007 under an aid-for-disarmament accord, but began renovating it after its last nuclear test in 2013. AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)©AFP

A South Korean on Tuesday watches a TV news report of the North's nuclear restart

North Korea says it has revamped and restarted its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon and is working to improve its nuclear weapons “in quality and quantity”, a move likely to rekindle tension with South Korea and the US.

“If the US and other hostile forces persistently seek their reckless hostile policy towards the DPRK and behave mischievously, the DPRK is fully ready to cope with them with nuclear weapons any time,” the director of North Korea’s Atomic Energy Institute was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency.

He added that the country’s atomic scientists had “made innovations day by day” to “guarantee the reliability of the nuclear deterrent”.

The comments came a day after Pyongyang said it was preparing to launch a rocket to carry a satellite into space, sparking criticism from Seoul and Washington, which view any activity involving ballistic missile technology as a violation of UN sanctions.

The announcement that it was in the final phase of developing a new satellite fuelled speculation that the communist state would launch a long-range rocket next month to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ party.

The head of the country’s aerospace agency said the world would “clearly see a series of satellites soaring into the sky at times and locations determined” by the Workers’ party, the KCNA reported.

The South Korean defence ministry said on Tuesday a launch would represent a “serious” violation of UN resolutions but added it had yet to detect any signs of North Korea preparing such a move.

North Korea launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, putting a satellite into orbit after several failed attempts. It conducted a third nuclear test two months later, which resulted in a toughening of international sanctions.

The long-range rocket-firing will probably lead to tougher UN resolutions and North Korea is likely to conduct a fourth nuclear test in protest against this

- Cheong Seong-chang, researcher at Sejong Institute

Pyongyang’s latest announcements cast a cloud over recent signs of improving inter-Korean relations. The two Koreas agreed to hold reunions next month of families separated by the Korean war, after a surge in military tensions last month over Seoul’s cross-border propaganda broadcasts and mine explosions that maimed two South Korean soldiers.

This year Admiral William Gortney, head of the US Northern Command, said he believed North Korea was already capable of miniaturising a warhead for use with an intercontinental missile that could reach the US. However, many analysts are sceptical that Pyongyang has achieved this capability.

Experts say North Korea may conduct a fourth nuclear test as it continues its warhead miniaturisation efforts.

“The long-range rocket-firing will probably lead to tougher UN resolutions and North Korea is likely to conduct a fourth nuclear test in protest against this,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at Sejong Institute. “Then, North Korea’s nuclear capability will become advanced further, making the security situation on the Korean peninsula very unstable, which is likely to scupper the family reunions.” / The Financial Times