North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute confirmed Tuesday that the Yongbyon nuclear facility's five-megawatt reactor had returned to normal operations after being mothballed in 2007 to comply with a six-nation aid-for-disarmament agreement.
The reactor is said to be capable of producing 13 pounds of plutonium each year, which is enough to produce a nuclear bomb, according to news reports.
With the announcement of the restart the director of the AEI said that work had been done to improve the "quality and quantity" of North Korea's nuclear deterrent. He then warned the United States and others that “their reckless hostile policy,” would be met with a nuclear response “any time.”
Experts say North Korea has not yet been able to make a nuclear bomb small enough to fit on a missile that could be launched against the United States. North Korea, meanwhile, has announced it will launch a satellite into space soon, but the second-guessing by experts says the country is about to test ballistic missiles, calling them space-bound rockets as an alibi.
Political analysts are pointing to Chinese President Xi Jinping's scheduled visit to the United States later this month as a motivation for North Korea to issue belligerent statements. Others are pointing to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Worker's Party as a reason for the chest-thumping.
North Korea and South Korea are technically at war, because the 1950-53 conflict ended with a cease fire, rather than a peace accord.
South Korea, the United States and Japan all responded to Tuesday's threats with warnings that North Korea would be in violation of United Nations resolutions if it were to launch any ballistic missiles.