North Korea restarts plutonium reactor, shows satellite images

North Korea is reported to have restarted its plutonium reactor, a recent satellite image has shown.

The U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies has found white steam rising from a building next to the Nyongbyon nuclear reactor that confirmed the reactor was being restarted, Stuff.co.nz reports.

The building houses steam turbines and electric generators that were driven by heat generated by the reactor, the researchers said.

According to the report, the colour and volume of the steam is consistent with the electrical generating system of the reactor being readied for operation.

The five megawatt nuclear reactor was shut down in 2007 under the terms of a disarmament agreement.

Pyongyang announced in April that they were planning to restart the reactor, after it faced tougher international criticism over its nuclear and rocket tests.

These new findings showed that Kim Jong-un's regime was pressing ahead with its nuclear programme.

The move could raise international alarm over its nuclear weapons programme.

The State Department's spokesman for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Jason Rebholz, reiterated the call for Pyongyang to comply with its previous commitments and abandon all nuclear weapons and nuclear programmes.

An operating reactor will enable Pyongyang to renew the production of plutonium, but on a small scale, to slowly expand its stockpile of nuclear bombs.