The Washington Post says it will take at least six months to a year for North Korea to fully restart its Yongbyon Nuclear Plant.

The US daily cited a North Korean expert as saying Pyongyang will need to rebuild its cooling tower before it can reactivate the nuclear plant. He expected the process to take at least six months.

As such, the expert forecast that negotiations with the North will be inactive for the next six months, adding that what North Korea wants is be acknowledged by the U.S. as a nuclear-weapons-state.