North Korea could finish constructing its light water reactor, a critical component in its nuclear weapons program, by the second half of next year.
The U.S-based Institute for Science and International Security has released satellite images of the construction site at the Yongbyon[영변] experimental light water reactor that were taken between May and June.
The institute says the building has yet to be covered with a dome, but apart from that, all other major work on the reactor and the adjacent building is complete.
Once operational, the plant will give North Korea a new source of plutonium, a key fissile component in nuclear weapons.
North Korea announced in 2009 that it would build light water reactors and begin enriching uranium for their fuel, sparking global condemnation.

Reporter : sojungpark@arirang.co.kr