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U.N. slams N. Korea nuke restart
VIENNA, Austria -- The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency says it is unable to verify what is happening at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex, but it deplores the facility being operated without safeguards. A spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency told Reuters Thursday the agency was firmly opposed to North Korea operating its nuclear facilities without the presence of U.N. inspectors. The United States said Wednesday North Korea had reactivated its five-megawatt nuclear reactor, a sign Pyongyang may be going ahead with its nuclear weapons program. The plant had been mothballed since 1994. But two months ago, North Korea expelled Pyongyang the IAEA's inspectors at the plant and removed U.N. seals on the equipment in preparation for reactivating the reactor. "Restarting this now unsafeguarded nuclear facility will further demonstrate the DPRK's (North Korea's) disregard for its nuclear non-proliferation obligations," spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said in a written statement. "Our Board of Governors has confirmed that the DPRK's safeguards agreement with the IAEA remains binding and in force," she said. Earlier this month the IAEA board of governors asked the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to impose economic sanctions for violations of non-proliferation obligations, to take up the issue of North Korea's nuclear actions. But the council referred the matter to panel of experts from its member countries, effectively delaying any decision on the issue for many months. The United States says that, in about a year, North Korea could begin reprocessing spent fuel from the nuclear reactor to make a nuclear bomb. At the same time, administration officials say there is no evidence that North Korea has begun reprocessing spent fuel rods it already has at a separate facility, an action that would allow it to make bomb material much sooner and one the United States would view as an even more serious matter. The news also comes as North Korea issued a warning to its military and citizens to prepare themselves for a large-scale attack by the United States that could include a pre-emptive nuclear strike. (Full story) Massive joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea due to begin early next month are being cited by Pyongyang as a sign of aggressive intent by the United States. "The ceaseless sabre-rattling staged by the U.S. in South Korea against this backdrop is creating an extremely tense situation where it may make a preemptive strike at the DPRK any time," a statement released by the official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday. "The reality goes to clearly prove that the U.S. talk about 'peaceful settlement' of the nuclear issue is no more than a broad hoax to deceive the world public opinion," Pyongyang said. The United States denies it has any plans to attack North Korea, consistently saying it is seeking a diplomatic and political solution to the increasing tensions. On Monday, the North fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, an act many believe was designed to upstage the inauguration of new South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. (Roh sworn in) Last week, a North Korean MiG-19 fighter briefly flew into South Korean air space. (MiG incursion) The North has also threatened to abandon the 1953 armistice that ended the fighting of the Korean War and accused Washington of flying a spy plane into North Korean airspace. The flight was a "premeditated move to find an opportunity to mount a preemptive attack," North Korea said. ('Spy' flights) Reuters contributed to this report.
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