Anchor: A United Nations sanctions committee says that North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex remains active along with its nuclear and missile programs. This is based on a 66-page report issued on Tuesday by the UN Security Council sanctions committee on North Korea. 
Our Park Jong-hong has this report.

Report: The panel of international experts said the five-megawatt nuclear reactor in Yongbyon remains active.

It concluded that in spite of occasional and partial suspensions, the North’s nuclear and missile programs “remain intact” and the country continues to defy UN Security Council resolutions.

The annual report released on Tuesday cited satellite imagery taken through November of last year which showed excavation of water channels and construction of a new building near the reactors' water discharge facilities.

The panel said it observed the removal of spoil piles at Pyongsan, the site of uranium mines, which demonstrates possible mining activity. 

However in Kangson, there was no notable change around the possible uranium enrichment facility, except for the intermittent movement of large trucks.

The panel’s comprehensive report noted North Korea is using more sophisticated methods to evade UN sanctions including increasing imports of petroleum products through illicit ship-to-ship transfers. 

Experts called the Nampo port the North's hub for illegal smuggling.

They said that illegally smuggled refined oil products were directly transported from vessels through underwater pipelines at the port more than 140 times between January and August of last year.

The report added the ship-to-ship transfers have involved "increasingly advanced evasion techniques.”

This includes the disguising of vessels via ship identity theft and false Automatic Identification System transmissions and the use of unregistered vessels.

North Korea has also been selling small arms and other military equipment to countries including Libya, Sudan and Houthi rebels in Yemen, in violation of the UN weapons embargo.
Park Jong-hong, KBS World Radio News.

[Photo : YONHAP News]