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U.S.: 'Activity' detected at North Korea nuclear site

Spent fuel could be made into weapons, officials say

North Korea says military exercises planned for next month between South Korea and the United States prove Washington's hostile intent.
North Korea says military exercises planned for next month between South Korea and the United States prove Washington's hostile intent.

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U.S. forces train in South Korea in the midst of a standoff with North Korea. CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon reports. (February 27)
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WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials said Friday that "activity" has been detected at North Korea's reprocessing facility in Yongbyon that could lead to spent plutonium being reprocessed to produce five to eight nuclear weapons in addition to the one or two U.S. intelligence estimates the nation might already have.

An official said there is "activity which would lead you to believe that they might before long fire up the plant."

Intelligence reports also indicate that the North is preparing to test a ballistic missile in the near future, with both moves pushing the nuclear standoff further toward a "red line," Reuters quotes sources in Washington as saying.

Earlier this week, Washington said it had evidence that North Korea had restarted the Yongbyon reactor and could produce enough plutonium as a by-product of generating electricity to make a nuclear weapon in about one year.

North Korea restarting its reprocessing facility would likely heighten concerns considerably in Washington and in northeast Asia. Experts say the plant could give the regime enough fissile material to begin producing about one nuclear weapon per month.

Officially, the facility would be reprocessing spent plutonium to be re-used in the Yongbyon reactor. But U.S. officials say reprocessing would be unnecessary given the 5-megawatt reactor's relatively low output. They believe the only purpose for restarting the plant would be to make nuclear weapons material or frighten the world into believing that is happening.

North Korea has stored about 8,000 spent fuel rods in Yongbyon, according to the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA].

On Thursday, the IAEA said it opposed Pyongyang's decision to restart the complex. The move, it said, was further evidence of North Korea's "disregard for its nuclear nonproliferation obligations." (U.N. alarm)

On Friday, South Korea made clear its opposition when it expressed its "deep worry and regret" at North Korea's decision and urged Pyongyang to fall back into line.

The North's apparent determination to press ahead with its nuclear arms program has proven a significant headache for the Bush administration, which is seeking to avert a confrontation with North Korea as it prepares for a possible war with Iraq.

North Korea for its part has never publicly acknowledged that it has a nuclear weapons program, saying only that it needs to restart its reactors because of an acute energy shortage.

With no international monitors in North Korea, the lack of verifiable facts has made international efforts to seek a way out of the crisis all the more difficult.

Despite the calls from China, Russia and South Korea for the U.S. to hold direct talks with Pyongyang, Washington has insisted that multilateral diplomatic pressure be applied.

Range of missiles raises concerns

The Yongbyon plant had been mothballed since 1994 under an agreement with the United States.

Two months ago, however, North Korea kicked out the IAEA's inspectors at the plant and removed U.N. seals on the equipment in preparation for resuming work at the reactor.

In August 1998, North Korea test-launched its three-stage Taepo Dong-1 missile over Japan, demonstrating that population centers, including Tokyo, were within its estimated 620-mile [1,000-kilometer] range.

That missile -- and longer-range models the North is thought to have built but not tested -- have compounded worries about the secretive state's nuclear ambitions.

Earlier this month, the IAEA board of governors asked the U.N. Security Council to take up the issue of North Korea's alleged nuclear weapons program.

The council has the power to impose economic sanctions for violating nonproliferation obligations.

However, members opted to refer the matter to panel of experts from its member countries, effectively delaying any decision on the issue.

Meanwhile, North Korea has continued its bellicose rhetoric, warning its military and citizens to prepare themselves for a large-scale attack by the United States that could include a pre-emptive nuclear strike. (War warning)

Pyongyang is citing extensive joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea due to begin next month as a sign of Washington's aggressive intent.

The United States denies it has plans to attack North Korea, consistently saying it is seeking a diplomatic and political solution to the increasing tensions.


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