North Korea said it will restart all facilities at its Yongbyon nuclear site, including a uranium enrichment plant and a graphite-rod reactor mothballed since 2007, the official Korean Central News Agency said.
The move follows a decision by North Korea’s only political party to pursue the twin goals of economic and nuclear development, KCNA reported, citing a spokesman for North Korea’s General Department of Atomic Energy.
The work will begin “without delay” to restart the facilities, including the 5-megawatt graphite rod reactor, which has been out of service since 2007 following an agreement reached at six nation talks aimed at persuading the totalitarian state to abandon its nuclear weapons development. Those negotiations haven’t occurred since December 2008.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the weekend called nuclear weapons development a top priority as his country ratcheted up tensions by declaring a state of war with South Korea and reiterating threats to attack the U.S.
