DPRK to start nuclear operations

including a uranium enrichment plant and a 5MW graphite moderated reactor that had been “mothballed and disabled under an agreement reached at the six-party talks in October 2007.”

The spokesman said the decision was made at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea on March 31 to cure the country’s electricity shortage and boost up nuclear armed forces.

Such a move came days after the DPRK claimed that it had entered a “state of war” with South Korea.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday instructed the military to strongly respond to possible provocation by the DPRK without any political considerations.

Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula since the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test on February 12 as a counter-measure against the joint military drills of the United States and South Korea.

The DPRK has also threatened to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike for self-defence and unilaterally nullified the 1953 armistice that suspended the Korean War.
The US Navy was moving a sea-based radar platform closer to the Korean Peninsula in order to monitor military moves of the DPRK, including possible new missile launches, CNN quoted a Pentagon official as saying on Monday.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said yesterday that China regretted the DPRK’s intention to reopen its nuclear facilities.
“We have noticed the statement made by the DPRK and feel regretful about it,” Hong said at yesterday’s Press briefing.
Hong said China has constantly advocated denuclearising the Korean Peninsula and maintaining peace and stability in the peninsula and northeast Asia.

“We are calling for all parties concerned to remain calm and restrained, return to dialogue and consultation as soon as possible and jointly seek ways to appropriately resolve the issue,” Hong said.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said yesterday that the restart of the nuclear reactor in Yongbyon would be “very regrettable”.
“I watched the (KCNA’s) report. It would be very regrettable if the news report is true,” foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-Young told reporters at a regular briefing.

The DPRK said the restart would contribute to solving the problem of electricity shortage by developing its nuclear power industry in a self-sufficient way.
South Korea’s foreign ministry spokesman urged the DPRK to “live up to promises it made in the past and sustain denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula,” saying that Seoul will continue to closely watch the developments. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said the North Korea “crisis has gone too far”.

Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Andorra, Mr Ban called for urgent talks with the DPRK.
“Things must begin to calm down, there is no need for the DPRK to be on a collision course with the international community. Nuclear threats are not a game,” Mr Ban said.

Facts on Yongbyon nuclear complex

North Korea’s main nuclear facility, thought to have produced the material for 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests;

Reactor shut down in July 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal; cooling tower dismantled in 2008;

IAEA inspectors banned in April 2009 when North Korea pulled out of disarmament talks;

Experts believe that, if re-started, reactor could make one bomb’s worth of plutonium per year;

A uranium-enrichment facility was revealed in 2010. An American nuclear scientist said centrifuges appeared to be primarily for civilian nuclear power, but could be converted to produce highly enriched uranium bomb fuel;