North Korea's nuclear plant is discovered to be active. Because of these, various critics and U.S. government officials are now sharing their thoughts about the satellite images of Planet Labs.
Currently, North Korea is considered one of the best nations for nuking development since it creates nuclear bombs and other nuclear weapons that are comparable to those of the United States, Russia, Japan, and China.
NORCOREA Reactivo su reactor nuclear. Desde diciembre de 2018, el reactor de Yongbyon estuvo cerrado, pero desde el viernes pasado muestra actividad. Puede ser el foco de una futura guerra, junto con Iran y Rusia. pic.twitter.com/78gqJZS4Vv
— Carlos Peñaloza (@GenPenaloza) August 31, 2021
But, this Asian country has stopped producing nukes for the past few years. Now, Planet Labs' satellite imagery database, as well as the Center for Nonproliferation Studies' satellite photos, showed that North Korea's Yongbyon reactor is active since it discharges cooling water, which flows out of the plant.
The liquid is also shown flowing into a channel leading to the nearby Kuryong River. NBC reported that it was able to acquire the satellite photos from Planet Labs back on Aug. 25.
However, the actual images were not published on Planet Labs' official website.
North Korea's Active Nuclear Plant Now a Big Deal
Right now, it seems like North Korea doesn't care if the world knows that one of its largest nuclear plants is currently active.
People watch a television news programme showing file footage of North Korea's missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on January 1, 2020. - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared an end to its moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and threatened a demonstration of a "new strategic weapon" soon.
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Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said that the Asian country is not making any effort to hide their nuclear activities.
"The fact that it's running means they're going to add to their nuclear weapons stockpile," said Lewis.
He added that North Korea only has one reason to use its Yongbyon reactor to develop nuclear weapons. Aside from the East Asia Nonproliferation Program, IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) also said that it identified some hints that the Asian country is really renewing the activities of the giant reactor plant.
"North Korea has restarted a nuclear reactor widely believed to be capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium, according to a report from the global nuclear watchdog released Sunday."
Image: @planet "Nuclear complex in Yongbyon, North Korea, from Friday" pic.twitter.com/DGzKBDwje5— OPSEC (@opsec_025) August 30, 2021
In other news, Philippines cube satellites are now heading to the International Space Station. On the other hand, various NASA is about to launch Landsat-9 this coming Sept. 9.
Other Stunning Satellite Images
Besides the now-active North Korea reactor plant, Maxar Technologies' satellites also captured photos of the U.S. final evacuation in Afghanistan.
Space.Com reported that the latest satellite images showed the efforts made by the American troops to pull out their fellow soldiers, some U.S. citizens, as well as other Afghan refugees.
For more news updates about other satellite images of important happenings across the globe, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
