By ANNA MALPAS
MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday warned of a potential “man-made catastrophe” if North Korea restarts an aging plutonium reactor to boost its stockpile of nuclear weapons, after US experts spotted steam rising from the Yongbyon facility.
The reactor, which was completed in 1986, is outdated and North Korea could suffer a major disaster if it is restarted, a Russian diplomatic source told the Interfax news agency.
The warning came after researchers at the US-Korea Institute said Wednesday that satellite images taken on Aug. 31 showed plumes of white steam rising from a building next to the reactor.
“Our main concern is linked to a very likely man-made disaster as a consequence. The reactor is in a nightmarish state, it is a design dating back to the 1950s,” the Russian source said.
“For the Korean Peninsula this could entail terrible consequences, if not a man-made catastrophe.”
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