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North Korea 'restarts plutonium reactor' - and could have stockpiles within weeks, says US spy chief North Korea 'restarts plutonium reactor' - and could have stockpiles within weeks, says US spy chief
(35 minutes later)
North Korea has restarted its plutonium reactor and could have stockpiles within weeks, a US spy chief has reportedly said. North Korea has restarted its plutonium reactor and could have stockpiles within weeks, the US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has said.
This article will be updated shortly The hermit kingdom has expanded a uranium enrichment facility and restarted a plutonium reactor that could soon start recovering spent fuel, the spy chief said.
In his annual assessment of the risks facing the US, Mr Clapper also said that Islamic jihadists will continue plotting against US interests overseas and homegrown attacks and will pose the most significant threat from violent extremists to Americans at home.  
Mr Clapper said Iran remains the top state sponsor of terrorism, al-Qaida-linked groups remain resilient and the US will continue to see cyber threats from China, Russia and North Korea. 
Pyongyang announced in 2013 its intention to refurbish and restart nuclear facilities, to include the uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon and its graphite-moderated plutonium production reactor, which was shut down in 2007. 
"We assess that North Korea has followed through on its announcement by expanding its Yongbyon enrichment facility and restarting the plutonium production reactor," Mr Clapper said.
On Isis, he said: "The perceived success of attacks by homegrown violent extremists in Europe and North America, such as those in Chattanooga and San Bernardino, might motivate others to replicate opportunistic attacks with little or no warning, diminishing our ability to detect terrorist operational planning and readiness. 
"ISIL involvement in homeland attack activity will probably continue to involve those who draw inspiration from the group's highly sophisticated media without direct guidance from ISIL leadership," he added, using an acronym for the militant group.
Moscow "is assuming a more assertive cyber posture" that is based on its willingness to target critical infrastructure and carry out espionage operations even when those operations have been detected and are under increased public scrutiny, Clapper said. Russia's cyber operations are likely to target U.S. interests in part to underpin its intelligence gathering to support Russia's moves in the Ukraine and Syrian crises, he said. 
Clapper said China selectively uses cyberattacks against targets Beijing believes threaten Chinese domestic stability or regime legitimacy. 
"We will monitor compliance with China's September 2015 commitment to refrain from conducting or knowingly supporting cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property with the intent of providing competitive advantage to companies or commercial sectors," he said.