South Korean intelligence authorities believe there is nothing new about North Korean nuclear activities at the Yongbyon reactor site.
 
In the wake of a U.S. think tank’s report that a North Korea reactor has recently been restarted after a hiatus, an official on Thursday reminded reporters of an October assessment that pointed to the resumption of reactor operation.
 
The South Korean official said that 38 North’s commercial satellite is insufficient for monitoring the reactor and that intelligence gained from U.S. reconnaissance satellites show different results.
 
The intelligence official said that activity has been consistently observed around the Yongbyon reactor, suggesting there is nothing new about 38 North’s assessment. 
 
Cho Bo-geun, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said at a parliamentary hearing in October that the government’s assessment is that the Yongbyon reactor is in operation. 
 
38 North, a Web site maintained by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, reported Wednesday that new activity was observed at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear reactor after a five-month hiatus.