The operation of the 5 megawatt nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex has been suspended since late September, according to intelligence assessment by U.S. and South Korean authorities, the report said.
Reprocessing of spent fuel rods removed from a nuclear reactor is a step taken before plutonium is extracted.
The Yongbyon nuclear complex is the North's main source of plutonium that it likely has used to build nuclear weapons.
North Korea has also operated uranium enrichment facilities, which is a separate source of material that could be used for nuclear weapons.
North Korea claims itself a nuclear state but has kept how many nuclear weapons it may have built or deployed a secret.
Persons:
Jeon Ha, Siegfried Hecker, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Hecker, " Hecker, Kim, Jack Kim, Lincoln
Organizations:
Kyodo ., Donga Ilbo, Russia, North, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Thomson
Locations:
Korean, Yongbyon, Kyodo . North Korea, SEOUL, North Korea, Korea, Pyongyang, Russia, Korea's