North Korea’s new reactor at nuke site likely to be formally operational next summer, Seoul says

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Wonsik has said that a light-water reactor at North Korea’s main nuclear complex will likely be formally operational by next summer. Shin told local reporters that his country had also spotted similar cooling system-related activities associated with the reactor last summer, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry on Friday. The reactor appears to be in the stage of a trial operation and it’s expected to be officially operational around next summer, he said Thursday. North Korea has long produced weapons-grade plutonium from its widely known 5-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon. The light-water reactor would be an additional source of bomb fuels.