Nyŏngbyŏn nuclear facility

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Reactor building of the 5 MW plant
The reactor cover of the 5 MW reactor
Decommissioned nuclear fuel plant
Korean spelling
Korean alphabet : 녕 변핵 시설
Hanja : 寧邊 核 施 設
Revised Romanization : Nyeongbyeon haeksiseol
McCune-Reischauer : Nyŏngbyŏn haeksisŏl

The Nyŏngbyŏn nuclear facility probably represents the largest part of the nuclear facilities in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea ). It is located near the city of Nyŏngbyŏn (DPRK spelling: 녕변 , Nyŏngbyŏn ; South Korean spelling: 영변 , Yŏngbyŏn / Yeongbyeon ), 100 km north of Pyongyang , in the province of P'yganngan-pukto .

In 1962 the government of North Korea decided to set up a nuclear research center near Nyŏngbyŏn (today approx. 9,500 inhabitants) with Soviet help. From August 1965, a research reactor of the type IRT-2000 (other sources: IRT-2M) with a capacity of 2 megawatts was built there, also with Soviet help  . It went into operation in 1967. Until 1973, the Soviet Union supplied fuel rods that were enriched with up to 10% fissile uranium . In the mid-1970s, North Korea modernized the research reactor and switched it to highly enriched uranium , which increased the reactor's performance.

At the same time, Pyongyang began building its own second reactor with an output of five megawatts. According to estimates, the reactor can produce up to eight kilograms of plutonium per year .

In the 1980s, the site was expanded to include a plant for the production of fuel elements and a plant for the reprocessing of nuclear fuel rods. At the same time, the construction of the nuclear facility in T'aech'ŏn (13,000 inhabitants), northwest of Nyŏngbyŏn, began.

The expansion of the plant on the other side of the river with another reactor with 50 MW capacity and the nuclear facility in T'aech'ŏn with a capacity of 200 MW have not yet been completed.

As part of the six-party talks on February 13, 2007, North Korea agreed to close the Nyŏngbyŏn plants and allow inspections by foreigners in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil . After some delays and a surprise visit from the US Ambassador to the United States, Christopher Hill, in Pyongyang, North Korea promised on June 22, 2007 that it would shut down the plutonium-producing facility within the next three weeks. The talks concerned the implementation of North Korea's commitment to end its nuclear weapons program . The inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed after a tour of the nuclear facilities on July 15, 2007 that the reactor had been shut down.

As a visible sign of the dismantling of its nuclear program, North Korea blew up the cooling tower of the reactor on June 27, 2008 . The day before, government officials in Beijing had presented detailed information on the North Korean nuclear program. The North Korean government initially refused to carry out a detailed inspection of the nuclear facility.

At the end of August 2008, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the suspension of the dismantling of the Nyŏngbyŏn plant. Instead, they want to rebuild the nuclear reactor. In a statement on September 19, 2008, North Korea announced that it would prepare to reopen the plant, as the US has still not removed the country from the list of so-called “ rogue states ”. International observers saw the announcement as an attempt by North Korea to resume the nuclear weapons program, contrary to what was agreed in the six-party talks.

At the beginning of October 2008, North Korea again agreed to recognize the results of the six-party talks and to allow new inspections of the Nyngbyŏn nuclear facility. The United States then removed North Korea from the list of rogue states with immediate effect on October 11 . One day later, North Korea announced the shutdown of the Nyŏngbyŏn plant.

The regime apparently turned around in 2010. According to a report by US nuclear weapons specialist Siegfried Hecker , the Nyŏngbyŏn facility is back in operation. In addition to the treatment of the existing plutonium, there is now, according to Hecker's report, an advanced complex for uranium enrichment and modern control technology. An experimental light water reactor with an output of 25 to 30 megawatts is under construction.

North Korean state media reported on April 2, 2013 that North Korea wanted to restart the five-megawatt reactor in Nyŏngbyŏn. Measures would be taken to restart the reactor and other facilities. Shortly before, on February 12, 2013, North Korea carried out an underground nuclear test.

In June 2013, the US Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University reported on its website that satellite images showed that the cooling tower was being repaired.

Satellite imagery from August 31, 2013 showed white smoke rising from a building near the reactor hall where the steam turbines and electrical generators are located. This indicates that the reactor has been commissioned.

On September 5, 2014, the IAEA published a report that the reactor was apparently back in operation. Corresponding indications were found on satellite images.

On September 16, 2015, AFP reported that North Korea said it had restarted the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. In this way the construction of atomic bombs could be promoted.

More nuclear facilities in North Korea

Construction of a 200 MW nuclear reactor began in T'aech'ŏn . The construction was stopped after the contract of 1994.

A Kŭmho nuclear power plant was only rudimentarily built in two attempts from 1987 and 1994.

Punggye-ri in Hamgyŏng-pukto Province is the North Korean nuclear test site (41.311 ° N, 129.114 ° E).

Web links

Commons : Nyŏngbyŏn nuclear facility  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ North Korea nuclear talks poised for accord . Reuters , February 13, 2007 (English)
  2. N. Korea to close nuclear facility 'promptly,' US envoy says ( Memento from June 25, 2007 in the web archive archive.today ) In: International Herald Tribune , June 22, 2007 (English)
  3. North Korea: IAEA confirms reactor shutdown . Die Zeit online , July 16, 2007
  4. Bush: North Korea remains part of the "axis of evil" . In: Die Presse , August 6, 2008, accessed August 27, 2008.
  5. USA did not keep promises ( memento of August 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Tagesschau , August 26, 2008, accessed on August 27, 2008.
  6. North Korea wants to reactivate the nuclear reactor . In: Der Tagesspiegel , September 19, 2008; Retrieved September 19, 2008.
  7. USA removes North Korea from terrorist list ( Memento from September 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: Rheinische Post , October 11, 2008.
  8. Pyongyang announces shutdown of Yongbyon . In: Der Standard , October 12, 2008.
  9. ^ Report by Siegfried Hecker about his visit to Nyŏngbyŏn in autumn 2010 ( Memento from September 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 144 kB; English)
  10. Kim Jong-un swears by KP on atomic power . Die Welt , April 2, 2013.
  11. US experts see Yongbyon nuclear reactor before restart In: Spiegel Online , June 4, 2013. Update on Yongbyon: Restart of Plutonium Production Reactor Nears Completion; Work Continues on the Experimental Light Water Reactor . 38north.org
  12. North Korea seems to be ramping up nuclear power . FAZ.net, September 12, 2013. North Korea Restarting Its 5 MW Reactor . 38north.org
  13. Experts: Nuclear reactor in North Korea apparently back in operation. orf.at, September 5, 2014, accessed on September 5, 2014 .
  14. taz.die tageszeitung, September 16, 2015, p. 11.

Coordinates: 39 ° 47 ′ 51.5 "  N , 125 ° 45 ′ 20.1"  E