Activity spotted at North Korean nuclear site

Satellite images taken last week at North Korea’s major nuclear site signal efforts to process radioactive material into bomb fuel, a U.S.-based think tank said Tuesday. The images taken Friday of the Yongbyon nuclear research facility showed five specialized railcars near the uranium enrichment facility and the radiochemistry laboratory, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said. “In the past, these specialized railcars appear to have been associated with the movement of radioactive material or reprocessing campaigns,” the report said. The level of activity is standard for the season during the past several years.

The report comes after a failed denuclearization summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February. North Korea had asked Trump to remove all sanctions directed at its economy, but U.S. officials said the move could eventually subsidize the North Korea’s nuclear activity and reiterated calls for complete denuclearization.