Since mid-October, North Korea has been experiencing a "large-scale" release of water from a nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon complex. This was reported by Yonhap.
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, noted that since mid-October 2023, there has been an increased level of activity and a strong outflow of water from the LWR cooling system. This raises concerns about a possible violation of UN Security Council resolutions and the "obvious" continuation of the country's nuclear program.
Grossi emphasized that despite three to four weeks of downtime in September and early October 2023, the 5 MWe reactor is showing signs of operation again.
There are also signs of ongoing activities on the centrifuge enrichment and its extension. In this regard, there are concerns that the country may test launch of a facility designed to produce more fissile material for nuclear bombs.