BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- A US research institute says that a recent satellite image appears to show the DPRK is restarting a plutonium reactor, in a move that could raise renewed international alarm over its nuclear weapons program.

The US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies says an August 31 commercial satellite image shows white steam rising from a building next to the reactor. In June, the institute predicted the reactor could be up and running by the end of August, depending on the availability of fresh fuel rods to power it. The five-megawatt reactor at the Nyongbyon nuclear facility was shuttered in 2007 under the terms of a disarmament agreement.

Pyongyang announced plans in April to restart it amid a litany of threats toward the US and South Korea after it faced tougher international censure over its latest nuclear and rocket tests. Without access to the secretive facility, it is difficult to say with certainty that the reactor has restarted.

(Source: CNTV.cn)