Yeongbyeon Thermal Plant Appears To Have Been Operating Since Late February

Satellite imagery shows a thermal plant in North Korea’s Yeongbyeon nuclear facilities appears to have been operating since late February this year.

That’s according to the U.S.-based North Korea monitoring website 38 North.

It could indicate some nuclear activity by the regime because the plant is used to provide steam when reprocessing spent fuel for plutonium extraction.

The operation period is reportedly longer than previous maintenance efforts and more consistent when compared to earlier reprocessing campaigns.

But the website said it could not confirm what is happening without further visual signatures or on-the-ground inspection.