{"id":48664,"date":"2021-06-10T11:55:19","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T02:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=48664"},"modified":"2024-05-02T15:52:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T06:52:43","slug":"tracking-unidentified-yellow-substance-being-dried-out-near-yongbyon-nuclear-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/tracking-unidentified-yellow-substance-being-dried-out-near-yongbyon-nuclear-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Tracking the “unidentified yellow substance” being dried out near the Yongbyon Nuclear Center"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A satellite image of an unidentified yellow substance in an empty space near the Yongbyon Nuclear Center. \/ Image: 38 North (Mar. 12, 2021)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The US-based website 38 North reported on Mar. 12 that it had discovered an \u201cunidentified yellow substance\u201d at Yongbyon Nuclear Center in a satellite photo taken Mar. 10 (see photo to the right). The unidentified substance was spread out in a line in an empty space between buildings of Yongbyon\u2019s uranium enrichment facility, with people apparently working on it. \u201cDuring harvest time, grain is laid out to dry in the sun, but this is March \u2014 an unlikely time to dry grain,\u201d wrote 38 North. \u201cTherefore, <\/span>the nature of this substance and activity remains unclear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In another article posted on June 7, 2013, 38 North mentioned a yellow substance \u2014 apparently grain drying in the sun \u2014 laid out along a road in Yongbyon. The site said the substance appeared to be drying corn. Analysts at 38 North seemed a bit bewildered, however. Noting that the satellite photo was taken in April, they pointed out that corn is usually harvested and dried in autumn, not spring.<\/span><\/p>\n

In other 38 North posts on Mar. 29 and May 16 of 2013 as well, analysts observed an unidentified grain drying at Yongbyon Nuclear Center in spring, a phenomenon they found mystifying.<\/span><\/p>\n

38 North detected drying grain in satellite photos taken on Sept. 9, Sept. 21 and Nov. 1 of 2012, too. The site\u2019s analysts said it appeared to be corn harvested in autumn. Back in the 2013 article, they admitted it was strange to dry corn in spring rather than the autumn harvest season. \u201c[T]he mid-September typhoon may have set back the effort and the North might have had to store the grain over the long cold winter,\u201d they posited. \u201cGood weather in late April and May could have been their first chance to dry it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on my rural background and my imperfect knowledge of the subject, I thought it was barley that was laid out on the street to dry in spring. I researched the matter further based on general agricultural information scoured from the Internet and inquiries to acquaintances with farming knowledge and experience. This is what I found.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barley and wheat are usually harvested from fields and dried in the sun in spring, while corn is harvested and dried in autumn. Here are the specifics:<\/span><\/p>\n