Nuclear power in North Korea
[4][5] As the center has not received fresh fuel since Soviet times, this reactor is now only run occasionally to produce iodine-131 for thyroid cancer radiation therapy.[8] During the 1980s, the North Korean government realized that light-water reactors (LWRs) were better suited to producing large amounts of electricity, for which there was a growing requirement.[9][10] The Institute of Atomic Energy (IAE) in Pyongyang was founded in 1985, initially to house a 20 MeV cyclotron and laboratories imported under an IAEA technical cooperation program from the Soviet Union.Earlier, on 23 June, North Korea stated that it had begun to dismantle its nuclear program and declared that it would turn over all of its plans to the international community.[2] In April 2013, amid rising tensions with the West, North Korea stated that it would restart the mothballed Yongbyon facility and resume production of weapons-grade plutonium.[15] In 2009 North Korea announced its intention to build an indigenous experimental light water reactor (LWR) and the uranium enrichment technology to provide its nuclear fuel.[21] In 2017, several activities were noted involving construction, a dam was built to provide sufficient amount of water for the cooling system, switchyard and connections to transmission line were made along with facilities presumably used for maintenance and repair.[27][28][29][30] After the death of Kim Jong Il in December 2011, the IAEA announced its readiness to return nuclear inspectors to North Korea, from which they were expelled in 2009, as soon as an agreement could be reached on steps towards denuclearization.
experimental reactorYongbyonNorth Koreanuclear technologynuclear reactornuclear powernuclear weaponsnuclear testsSoviet UnionAtomicNuclear Physicsresearch reactorYongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centerhighly enriched uraniumiodine-131thyroid cancerradiation therapylight-water reactorssite selectioncyclotrongallium-66breast cancerKim Il Sung UniversityKim Chaek University of TechnologyU.S.-North Korea Agreed FrameworkUnited StatesTaechonKorean Peninsula Energy Development OrganizationSix-Party TalksNuclear Non-Proliferation Treatymachine shopBeijingSiegfried HeckerStanford University Center for International Security and CooperationApril rocket launchMike PompeoTaro KonoKang Kyung-whaRodong Sinmunnuclear fusionnuclear weapons programlight water reactorgas centrifugelow enriched uraniumNorth Korea and weapons of mass destructionKim Jong Ilthird nuclear testPyongyangEnergy in North KoreaNuclear proliferationNuclear terrorismNuclear warfareTreaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear WeaponsCenter for International Security and CooperationInstitute for Science and International SecurityNational Academy of EngineeringKorean Central News Agency38 NorthSchool of Advanced International StudiesBulletin of the Atomic ScientistsReutersPaul H. Nitze School of Advanced International StudiesJohns Hopkins UniversityTimeline of the North Korean nuclear program1994 North Korean nuclear crisisAgreed FrameworkJapan–North Korea Pyongyang DeclarationSanctions against North Korea2017–2018 North Korea crisisMissile tests2021–2023January 2016September 2016Nyongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research CenterPunggye-ri Nuclear Test SiteUN resolutionsSouth Korea and weapons of mass destructionSouth Korea Ballistic Missile Range GuidelinesNuclear power in South KoreaNuclear power by countryCanadaFranceRussiaSouth KoreaUkraineBelgiumSwedenUnited KingdomCzech RepublicFinlandGermanyPakistanSwitzerlandTaiwanArgentinaBelarusBrazilBulgariaHungaryMexicoRomaniaSlovakiaSouth AfricaArmeniaNetherlandsSloveniaAlbaniaAlgeriaBangladeshIndonesiaIsraelJordanKazakhstanMoroccoMyanmarNigeriaPhilippinesPolandSaudi ArabiaSri LankaThailandTunisiaTurkeyAustraliaAustriaIreland