Quick Take: Yongbyon’s 5 MWe Reactor Undergoes a Makeover

A series of recent commercial satellite images of North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center reveals that work has been done to the exterior of 5 MWe Reactor. After years of neglect to the building’s exterior, the rust and soil that had built up on its roof and exterior walls is now gone.

In 2022, a serious renovation and expansion of the facilities at Yongbyon began, although little attention appeared to be directed toward the 5 MWe Reactor. That changed in late spring of this year. Commercial satellite imagery from April 30 through July 27, 2025 showed efforts to refurbish the reactor’s façade and roof, as well as the new roofing on the surrounding support buildings. Reactor operations appear to have continued throughout the process as evidenced by the continuous warm-water discharge into the Kuryong River, a signature of reactor operations.