DHAKA: The UN nuclear watchdog said it has seen releases of steam and water indicating that North Korea may be operating a reactor, in the latest update on a plant that experts say could make plutonium for atomic bombs.

North Korea announced in April of last year that it would revive its aged five-megawatt research reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, saying it was seeking a deterrent capacity.

The isolated and poverty-stricken state defends its nuclear programme as a ‘treasured sword’ to counter what it sees as US-led hostility.

North Korea’s nuclear programme ‘remains a matter of serious concern’, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in an annual report posted on the UN agency’s website, according to The Straits Times.

BDST: 2110 HRS, SEP 04, 2014