New satellite imagery suggests North Korea may be firing up a facility for processing weapons-grade plutonium, as Pyongyang today threatened a fresh nuclear test in response to UN condemnation of its rights record.
The images show steam rising from a re-processing plant at the North's main Yongbyon nuclear complex -- a sign consistent with maintenance and testing prior to commencing operations, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said on its closely followed 38 North website.
The facility is used to reprocess spent fuel from the five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon that is North Korea's main source of weapons grade plutonium.
The latest satellite pictures indicate the reactor has been shut down for 10 weeks -- longer than required for routine maintenance.
While warning it was still early to reach a definitive conclusion, the institute said evidence suggested the shutdown may have allowed the removal of "a limited number" of fuel rods for possible re-processing.
The images also showed truck activity near the vehicle door to the building that receives the spent fuel at the reprocessing complex, it said.
The new analysis coincided with fresh threats from Pyongyang to carry out a new underground nuclear test following the UN adoption of a landmark resolution that condemns North Korean rights abuses.
Passed by 111 votes to 19, with 55 abstentions, the resolution also asked the UN Security Council to refer the North Korean leadership to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for possible charges of crimes against humanity.
The resolution was slammed as "counter-productive" today by Russia, which also shrugged off reports that Pyongyang may be firing up a facility to process weapons-grade plutonium.
"First of all, it is best to put forward such statements when they are based on facts -- not through the media," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after talks with a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
