North Korea is still building at nuke site

Monitoring group says North Korea is making 'rapid' upgrades to nuclear reactor despite summit pledges

North Korea is carrying out rapid improvements to its nuclear research facility, a monitor said yesterday, despite declaring a commitment to denuclearisation of the peninsula at the Singapore summit.

The nuclear-armed North's leader Kim Jong Un promised to "work toward" the goal at a landmark summit in the city-state earlier this month with US President Donald Trump.

But the Singapore meeting failed to define denuclearisation or produce a timeline towards dismantling the North's atomic weapons arsenal. Trump claimed the process would start quickly, saying last week that "It will be a total denuclearisation, which is already taking place." But recent satellite imagery showed that not only were operations continuing at present at the North's main Yongbyon nuclear site, it was also carrying out infrastructure works, said the respected 38 North website.

"Satellite imagery from June 21 indicates that improvements to the infrastructure at... Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center are continuing at a rapid pace," it said.

But continued operations at the site "should not be seen as having any relationship with North Korea's pledge to denuclearise", it added. Nuclear officials could be "expected to proceed with business as usual until specific orders are issued from Pyongyang", it said.

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