Unit 3 of the Ikata nuclear power plant in Japan’s Ehime prefecture has reached 100% operating capacity, owner Shikoku Electric Power Company announced today. The unit is the fifth Japanese reactor to resume operation. world-nuclear-news.org

X-Energy LLC, developers of the Xe-100 “pebble bed” high temperature, gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), said Monday that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Southern Nuclear Operating Company subsidiary Southern Nuclear as a step toward advancement of the small reactor that could help revitalize the nuclear power industry due to the reactor’s size and relative affordability. nuclearstreet.com

North Korea threatened Monday to turn Seoul and Washington into “a heap of ashes through a Korean-style pre-emptive nuclear strike” if they showed any signs of aggression toward the North’s territory during their annual military drills. foxnews.com

A strong national commitment to nuclear energy goes hand in hand with weak performance on climate change targets, researchers at the University of Sussex and the Vienna School of International Studies have found. phys.org