Recent commercial satellite images from the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center show that construction work on a site south of the Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) has been underway since April and has recently picked up speed. While the exact purpose of the future building is still unclear, it may be intended to play a supporting role in future ELWR operations. The new building is currently located outside the reactor area safety wall, which can, however, be expanded without any problems.
Water is still being drained from the 5 MWe reactor, indicating some level of operation, although other traditional signatures, such as steam from the generator hall, were not observed. These activities, along with the recently announced construction of the Uranium Enrichment Plant (UEP), all reflect increased operations across the Yongbyon complex.
ELWR construction activity
Pictures from April to September show that a new construction site near the ELWR has picked up speed in the last few weeks. A picture from September 15 shows that the building will most likely consist of two floors, albeit slightly larger (47 meters long and 17 meters wide) than the ELWR’s engineering office building (40 by 13 meters). While the construction site is outside the enclosure wall of the reactor area, the main street of the reactor complex leads directly to the new building. Given the size of the construction site, additional buildings will likely be erected there to support ELWR operations.
Figure 1. Construction progress of the building near ELWR.
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Figure 1A. New building near ELWR visible, April 9, 2021. Satellite image © 2021 Maxar Technologies. All rights reserved. For media license options, please contact [email protected]
Figure 1B. Construction visible near ELWR, June 9th 2021. Image Pleiades © CNES 2021, Distribution Airbus DS. For media options, please contact [email protected]
Figure 1C. Construction of a new building near ELWR visible, August 9, 2021. Satellite image © 2021 Maxar Technologies. All rights reserved. For media license options, please contact [email protected]
Figure 1D. Building structure near ELWR visible, August 25, 2021. Picture Pleiades © CNES 2021, Distribution Airbus DS. For media options, please contact [email protected]
Figure 1E. Building structure near ELWR visible, 9 September 2021. Picture Pleiades © CNES 2021, Distribution Airbus DS. For media options, please contact [email protected]
Figure 1F. Partial walls are visible during construction, September 15, 2021. Image © 2021 Planet Labs, Inc. cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media license options, please contact [email protected]
5 MWe reactor
Pictures from September 9th show that water from the 5 MWe reactor is still being discharged into the drainage channel in the Kuryong River. However, other traditional indicators, such as steam from the generator shop, were not observed. This could mean that activity on the reactor is either not currently involved in generating electricity or that the generator hall has been modified to avoid the release of visible plumes of steam. If the reactor is actually operating without generating electricity, then its only purpose is to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Figure 2. Water leaving the 5 MWe reactor.
Image Pleiades © CNES 2021, Airbus DS sales. For media options, please contact [email protected]
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