North Korea Says It's Extracted Nuclear Rods

North Korea Says It's Extracted Nuclear Rods: "North Korea Says It's Extracted Nuclear Rods

SEOUL, May 21, 2005

2005.05.11

SEOUL�North Korea says it has finished extracting spent nuclear fuel rods from a reactor, allowing it to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium and �bolster its nuclear arsenal.�

According to a North Korean Foreign Ministry statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, Pyongyang has �successfully finished� removing 8,000 fuel rods from the reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, which was shut down last month.

Removing the rods would allow them to be reprocessed to produce weapons-grade plutonium, amid an escalating standoff between North Korea and the United States. North Korea evicted international nuclear inspectors in late 2002, making it impossible to verify the claim.

China urges restraint

Saying the United States had 'threatened the DPRK [North Korea] with nuclear weapons,' the North Korean statement said Pyongyang 'keeps taking necessary measures to bolster its nuclear arsenal for the defensive purpose of coping with the prevailing situation, with a main emphasis on developing the self-reliant nuclear power industry.'

In Beijing, China urged restraint from all parties to six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear aims.

'We ask all the parties to exercise restraint and we hope that they will do nothing that is detrimental to the resumption of the six-party talks,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told Reuters.

Analysts say reprocessing the spent rods could yield enough plutonium for five to eight nuclear bombs, depending on the weapon design. To get the plutonium, the rods would first need to cool for several months.

U.S. says Pyongyang preparing nuclear test

Six-nation talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions have been stalled since June, with Pyongyang insisting it won't return until Washington drops its �hostile� policy. North Korea says the United Sta"