The Nyongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
's major nuclear facility, operating its first
nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...
s. It is located in
Nyongbyon County
Nyŏngbyŏn County (in standard Southern dialect: Yŏngbyŏn) is a county in North Pyŏngan province, North Korea. It borders the cities of Kaechŏn and Anju, and covers an area of 504 km².
Description
The city was heavily fortified du ...
in
North Pyongan Province
North Pyongan Province (Phyŏnganbukto; , also spelled North P'yŏngan), is a western province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former P'yŏng'an Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, th ...
, about 100 km north of
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
. The center produced the
fissile material
In nuclear engineering, fissile material is material capable of sustaining a nuclear fission chain reaction. By definition, fissile material can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons of thermal energy. The predominant neutron energy may be ty ...
for North Korea's
six nuclear weapon tests from 2006 to 2017, and since 2009 is developing indigenous
light water reactor nuclear power station technology.
Facilities
The major installations include all aspects of a
Magnox nuclear reactor fuel cycle, based on the use of
natural uranium
Natural uranium (NU or Unat) refers to uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.711% uranium-235, 99.284% uranium-238, and a trace of uranium-234 by weight (0.0055%). Approximately 2.2% of its radioactivity comes fr ...
fuel:
* a
fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
fabrication plant,
* a 5
MWe
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
experimental reactor producing power and district heating,
* a short-term
spent fuel
Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant). It is no longer useful in sustaining a nuclear reaction in an ordinary thermal reactor and ...
storage facility,
* a
fuel reprocessing facility that recovers
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
and
plutonium
Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
from
spent fuel
Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant). It is no longer useful in sustaining a nuclear reaction in an ordinary thermal reactor and ...
using the
PUREX
PUREX (plutonium uranium reduction extraction) is a chemical method used to purify fuel for nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. PUREX is the ''de facto'' standard aqueous nuclear reprocessing method for the recovery of uranium and plutonium fr ...
process.
Magnox spent fuel is not designed for long-term storage as both the casing and
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
metal core react with water; it is designed to be reprocessed within a few years of removal from a reactor.
As a
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
cooled,
graphite
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
moderated Magnox reactor does not require difficult-to-produce
enriched uranium fuel or a
heavy water moderator it is an attractive choice for a wholly indigenous nuclear reactor development.
The Magnox facilities were disabled in 2007 in accord with the
six-party talks agreement, but following the breakdown of that agreement were partially re-enabled in 2009 to reprocess existing stocks of spent fuel. On 15 September 2015, North Korea announced that the reactor had resumed operation.
The center also has an IRT-2000 pool-type
research reactor, supplied by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1963, operational since 1965. The reactor fuel is IRT-2M type assemblies of 10%, 36% and 80%
enriched uranium.
[ As the center has not received fresh fuel since Soviet times, this reactor is now (February 2007) only run occasionally for experiments or to produce isotopes, particularly ]iodine-131
Iodine-131 (131I, I-131) is an important radioisotope of iodine discovered by Glenn Seaborg and John Livingood in 1938 at the University of California, Berkeley. It has a radioactive decay half-life of about eight days. It is associated with nuc ...
for thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...
radiation therapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...
.
In 2009 the building of a small indigenous experimental light water reactor started. In 2010 a uranium enrichment plant began operating.[
The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center site occupies . It has two sections, the nuclear research section and a larger residential district (sometimes named Bungang or Pun’gangni), separated and surrounded by fencing.]
History
Construction of the 5 MWe experimental reactor began in 1980, and the reactor first went critical
Critical or Critically may refer to:
*Critical, or critical but stable, medical states
**Critical, or intensive care medicine
*Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences.
*Critical Software, a company specializing in ...
in 1986.[ This reactor was an initial small technology proving reactor for a following development program of larger Magnox reactors. The spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facility appeared to still be under construction in 1992.] The 5 MWe experimental reactor operated intermittently until 1994 when it was shut down in accordance with the U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework
The Agreed Framework between the United States of America and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (북미제네바기본합의서) was signed on 21 October 1994, between North Korea (DPRK) and the United States. The objective of the agreeme ...
. Following the breakdown of the Agreed Framework in 2002, operation restarted in February 2003, creating plutonium
Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
within its fuel load at a rate of about 6 kg per year. The reactor fuel was replaced between April and June 2005. The spent nuclear fuel has been reprocessed with an estimated yield of about 24 to 42 kg of plutonium metal, some of which was used for the nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s involved in the 2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
and 2009 North Korean nuclear test
The 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a nuclear device conducted on Monday, 25 May 2009 by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. s.[North Korean Fuel Identified as Plutonium]
, Thom Shanker and David E. Sanger, New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, 17 October 2006
Nyongbyon is also the site of a 50 MWe
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
Magnox prototype power reactor, but construction was halted in 1994 about a year from completion in accord with the Agreed Framework, and by 2004 the structures and pipework had deteriorated badly. This construction was being dismantled in 2010.
Another 200 MWe Magnox full-scale power reactor was being constructed at Taechon
T'aechŏn County or Thaechŏn County (''in North Korean romanization'') is a ''kun'', or county, in central North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It borders Taegwan and Tongch'ang to the north, Unsan and Nyŏngbyŏn to the east, Pakch'ŏn and ...
, 20 km north-west of Nyongbyon, () until construction was also halted in 1994 in accord with the Agreed Framework. By 2005 reconstruction of this reactor was uneconomic.
The reactor designs were based on declassified information about the British Magnox design at Calder Hall
Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...
and elsewhere, and the spent fuel reprocessing plant on the multi-national ''European Company for the Chemical Processing of Irradiated Fuels'' (EUROCHEMIC) plant at Mol- Dessel in Belgium.
2007 shutdown
On 13 February 2007, an agreement was reached at the Six party talks
The six-party talks aimed to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
There was a series of meetings with six participating states in Beijing:
* China
* Japan
* North Korea ...
that North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
will shut down and seal the Magnox nuclear reactor and associated facilities and invite back International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verifications. In return for this North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
will receive emergency energy assistance from the other five parties in the form of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
(IAEA) inspectors arrived at the site on 28 June to discuss verification and monitoring arrangements for the shutdown. This had been delayed from April due to a dispute with the United States over Banco Delta Asia. On 3 June an anonymous South Korean government official indicated that the shutdown may start following the first oil shipment later in the month. On 14 July, Sean McCormack
Sean McCormack (born 1964) is a former United States Assistant Secretary of State. He was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Department Spokesman on June 2, 2005, and served until January 20, 2009. McCormack is curren ...
stated that North Korea had told the US that the reactor had been shut down. He added that the US welcomed the news, and was awaiting verification from the IAEA team. The next day, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei announced the UN's confirmation that the reactor had been shut down. On 18 July 2007, the IAEA confirmed that all five nuclear facilities at Nyongbyon had been shut down.
In his Introductory Statement to the IAEA Board of Governors on 2008-03-03, the Director General stated that he could not provide an update on the disabling of the facilities, as it was not undertaken by the IAEA. All fuel rods from the 5 MWe Experimental Nuclear Power Plant and nuclear material generated by the disabling of the Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Plant were under IAEA containment and surveillance.
2008 cooling tower demolition
On 27 June 2008 North Korea destroyed the most visible symbol of its nuclear weapons program – the cooling tower
A cooling tower is a device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a coolant stream, usually a water stream to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and ...
at its main atomic reactor in the complex. The implosion was witnessed by a number of international journalists and diplomats.
The demolition of the -tall cooling tower, which carried off waste heat to the atmosphere, is a response to U.S. concessions after the North delivered a declaration of its nuclear programs to be dismantled. The United States paid the US$2.5 million demolition fee.
Possible reactivation
During 2008 tensions resurfaced between North Korea and the U.S. due to disagreements over the six-party talks disarmament process. On 8 October 2008, IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
inspectors were forbidden by the North Korean government to conduct further inspections of the site. However two days later the U.S. removed North Korea from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list and the Nyongbyon deactivation process resumed.
2009 resumption of reprocessing
According to the state-run North Korean news agency KCNA website, the DPRK resumed the reprocessing of spent fuel to recover plutonium on 25 April 2009 in response to the UN's condemnation of its recent rocket launch. This material supplemented that used for nuclear weapons testing.
Light water reactor development
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. In 2010 a 2,000 gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant to produce low enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238U ...
(LEU) fuel began operating, and construction started on the experimental 25 to 30 MWe LWR, with a target operation date for the reactor of 2012. In November 2011, satellite imagery indicated that the LWR construction was progressing rapidly, with the concrete structures largely completed. The LWR is being built on the site of the demolished cooling tower of the experimental Magnox reactor. Following the building of this experimental LWR, North Korea intends to build larger LWRs for electricity generation. Initial estimates were that the reactor would be put into operation in 2013, but the reactor was not externally complete until 2016. In 2017, several activities were noted involving construction, dam was built to provide sufficient amount of water for cooling system, switchyard and connections to transmission line were made along with facilities presumably used for maintenance and repair. Activity that suggests components were being transferred to the building were noted too. In 2018, it was believed that the preliminary testing of the reactor had started and that the reactor would begin to operate 2018 or 2019. The reactor is linked to power grid with an expected output is 25 to 30 megawatts, which is enough to supply electricity for about 50,000 inhabitants. However, there are no clear indications - such as steam from the generator building - that the LWR has commenced operation as of August 30, 2021.
Suspension of uranium enrichment
In February 2012, North Korea announced that it would suspend uranium enrichment at Nyongbyon, and not conduct any further tests of nuclear weapons while productive negotiations involving the United States continue. Additionally, North Korea would allow IAEA inspectors to monitor operations at Nyongbyon. The U.S. reaffirmed that it does not have hostile intent toward the DPRK, and is prepared to improve bilateral relationships. Nuclear enrichment was presumably resumed following the collapse of the Leap Day Deal.
2013 planned restart of operation
In March 2013, North Korea announced that they would be restarting operation of the 5 MWe experimental reactor. In order to do so, the disabled secondary cooling system will have to be restored.
On 15 September 2015, North Korea announced that the Yongbyon nuclear site is in full operation, including the 5 MWe experimental reactor.[ However, satellite imagery in April 2016 suggested it was not operating at a high power level.]
Infra-red imagery analysis covering from September 2016 to June 2017 showed that the 5 MWe experimental reactor had either not been operated, or operated at a low-level. The Radiochemical Laboratory had operated intermittently.
2018 Pyongyang Agreement
During the September 2018 inter-Korean summit, North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un and South Korean leader Moon Jae-In signed the "Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018" The agreement states, among other things, that the North Korean government will only dismantle Nyongbyon if the US would engage in correlative action.
As of January 2019, Nyongbyon's main facilities did not appear to be operating. However, in August 2021, the International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
reported that North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
appeared to have restarted the 5 MW reactor.
Organization
The Nyongbyon facility was described in 2013 as operating the following ten sub-branches:
# Isotope Utilization Institute
# Neutron Physics Institute
# Nuclear Electromagnetics Institute
# Nuclear Physics Institute
# Nuclear Material Institute
# Nuclear Energy Research Institute
# Uranium Resources Development Institute
# Radiochemical Laboratory
# Reactor Design Institute
# Radiation Protection Institute
See also
* Kangson enrichment site
The Kangson enrichment site is the name given to a suspected uranium enrichment site located in Chollima-guyok, just outside of Pyongyang, North Korea, along the Youth Hero Motorway, Pyongyang-Nampo Expressway.
Function
The facility is suspected ...
* North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
North Korea has a Korean People's Army, military nuclear weapon program, nuclear weapons program and, as of early 2020, is estimated to have an nuclear arsenal, arsenal of approximately 30 to 40 nuclear weapons and sufficient production of f ...
* Nuclear power in North Korea
North Korea (DPRK) has been active in developing nuclear technology since the 1950s.
Although the country currently has no operational power-generating nuclear reactor, efforts at developing its nuclear power sector continue. Moreover, North ...
* Ri Hong-sop
Notes
References
External links
IAEA & DPRK
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
Facilities in the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea Under Agency Safeguards
– International Atomic Energy Agency, 31 December 2003 (archived)
North Korea: No bygones at Yongbyon
– Robert Alvarez, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July 2003 (archived)
DPRK will re-open Nuclear Facilities to Produce Electricity
– Sin Yong Song, Vice Minister of Power and Coal Industries, 27 January 2003 (archived)
Visit to the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center in North Korea
– Siegfried S. Hecker
Siegfried S. Hecker (born October 2, 1943) is an American metallurgist and nuclear scientist. He served as Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1986 to 1997 and is now affiliated with Stanford University, where he is research prof ...
, 21 January 2004
Report of Visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea to Senate Foreign Relations Committee
– Siegfried S. Hecker, 17 March 2008
Technical summary of DPRK nuclear program
– Siegfried S. Hecker, 8 November 2005 (archived)
North Korean Plutonium Production
David Albright
David Albright, M.Sc., is an American physicist and a weapons expert who is the founder of the non-governmental Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), its current president, and author of several books on proliferation of atom ...
, ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
– Science & Global Security, 1994, Volume 5, pp. 63–87 (archived)
North Korea’s Corroding Fuel
David Albright, ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
– Science & Global Security, 1994, Volume 5, pp. 89–97 (archived)
Implications of the U.S./North Korean Agreement on Nuclear Issues
GAO
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
, October 1996 (GAO/RCED/NSIAD-97-8) (archived)
Implementation of the U.S./North Korean Agreed Framework on Nuclear Issues
GAO
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
, June 1997 (GAO/RCED/NSIAD-97-165) (archived)
Dismantlement and Radioactive Waste Management of DPRK Nuclear Facilities
Whang Jooho and George T. Baldwin, Sandia National Laboratories, April 2005 (SAND 2005-1981P) (archived)
*
{{authority control
Nuclear power stations in North Korea
Research institutes in North Korea
Nuclear program of North Korea
Nuclear technology in North Korea
Nuclear power in North Korea
Military of North Korea
Foreign relations of North Korea
Nuclear research institutes
Nuclear reprocessing sites
Unfinished nuclear reactors
Graphite moderated reactors
1985 establishments in North Korea
Buildings and structures in North Pyongan Province
eo:Jongbjono