North Korea takes step closer to making nukes

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North Korea takes step closer to making nukes

Jerusalem Post | May 11 2005

North Korea said Wednesday it had completed removing spent nuclear fuel rods from a reactor - a move that could allow it to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium - in the communist state's latest provocation amid a deadlock in disarmament talks.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said the country had "successfully completed" removing 8,000 fuel rods from the reactor at its main nuclear complex, Yongbyon, in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

The move comes after South Korean officials confirmed last month that the Yongbyon reactor was shut down, which would allow the rods to be removed and be reprocessed to extract weapons-grade plutonium. The North didn't specifically say Wednesday it would take such a step.

"We are continuing to take necessary measures to increase (our) nuclear arsenal for self-defense purposes," the unnamed spokesman said.

Experts have earlier said reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods could yield enough plutonium for between five to eight nuclear bombs, depending on the weapon design. To get the plutonium, the rods would first need to cool for a couple months and then be reprocessed, which also takes a couple months.