A Web site that analyzes North Korea said the regime is continuously suffering from difficulties in operating its five megawatt reactor in Yongbyon, which was restarted last summer.

 
The Web site 38 North said such difficulties come as a new sand dam built across the Kuryong River in early March to help ensure a steady, adequate supply of water for the reactor’s secondary cooling system and the experimental light water reactor’s primary cooling system failed in two places between April seventh and May 16th.

 
The United States-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University made the assessments based on satellite imagery taken between April and June.

 
The Web site said the imagery indicates that the five megawatt reactor was probably shut down or operated at reduced power levels for an undetermined amount of time.

 
The Web site said exactly why this shutdown or operation at reduced power occurred remains unclear. It said that one possible explanation could be that when it became apparent the dam was failing during the earlier period, the reactor operators worried its loss could cause the river channels to shift further to the east away from their cistern and shut down or reduced the power of the reactor for safety reasons.