North Korea destroys nuclear reactor tower, symbol of commitment to stop making bombs

The reported demolition of the 60-foot (20-meter) tall cooling tower at its main reactor complex was a gesture in response to U.S. concessions after the North delivered a declaration Thursday of its nuclear programs under an agreement at international arms talks.

South Korean TV network MBC said the reactor blast occurred shortly after 4 p.m. (0700 GMT) before an audience of international TV cameras. There were no other immediate details.

The symbolic explosion came just 20 months after Pyongyang shocked the world by detonating a nuclear bomb in an underground test to confirm its status as an atomic power. The nuclear blast spurred an about-face in the U.S. hard-line policy against Pyongyang, leading to the North's first steps to scale back its nuclear weapons development since the reactor became operational in 1986.

Last year, the North switched off the reactor at Yongbyon, some 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of the capital of Pyongyang, and it has already begun disabling the facility under the watch of U.S. experts so that it cannot easily be restarted.

The destruction of the cooling tower, which carries off waste heat to the atmosphere, is another step forward but not the most technically significant, because it is a simple piece of equipment that would be easy to rebuild.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email