U.S. Says N. Korea Has Restarted Reactor

27/02/2003| IslamWeb

North Korea has reactivated a nuclear reactor, U.S. officials said Wednesday, in what could be a first step toward production of additional nuclear weapons. U.S. intelligence officials said a telltale plume was spotted at the reactor shortly after Secretary of State Colin Powell said Pyongyang had made "a wise choice if it's a conscious choice" not to restart the reactor.

Powell was airborne over the Pacific at the time, heading home Tuesday after a visit to South Korea.
North Korea currently has the ability to produce five or six plutonium bombs from 8,000 spent fuel rods in a matter of a few months.

Move Would Enable Pyongyang to Build Additional Weapons

The reactivation, disclosed by two officials familiar with the North's military activities, could enable the North Koreans to build additional weapons in about a year. The Bush administration believes that North Korea now has one or two nuclear weapons.

South Korean Prime Minister Goh Kun said he could not confirm the report. "One of the top priorities of the new government is to try to end the nuclear issue peacefully, in close cooperation with the United States," he said.

State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said he could not confirm that the reactor had been restarted because the information was classified.

The reactor can produce about 13 pounds of plutonium per year. North Korea's weapon designs are estimated to require slightly less than that amount of plutonium for each bomb.

The Bush administration has been attempting to use diplomacy to wean North Korea away from its nuclear weapons program, but Pyongyang has shown no interest.

North Korea has withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, expelled International Atomic Energy Agency monitors and removed the IAEA monitoring equipment. It also has initiated a uranium-based bomb program in violation of its international commitments.

The five-megawatt reactor in question is part of a major nuclear complex at Yongbyon, located north of Pyongyang.

On Wednesday, North Korea warned its citizens to prepare for war, saying the country may be the next U.S. target after Iraq.

Powell repeated Tuesday that the United States has no intention of attacking North Korea, but said all options are on the table.

Earlier in the week, the North tested a short-range missile off its northeast coast. It also threatened recently to abandon the armistice that ended the Korean War 50 years ago.

US Food Aid to North Korea Not Affected By Political Considerations

The disclosure of the new activity came a day after the installation of South Korea's new president, Roh Moo-hyun. Goh took office Thursday.

Powell attended Roh's inauguration and announced afterward that the United States was donating 40,000 metric tons of food to North Korea, with an additional 60,000 metric tons later in the year.

The administration has consistently said that food assistance for North Korea would not be affected by political considerations. Powell blamed continued hunger in North Korea on Pyongyang's guns-over-butter policies.

PHOTO CAPTION

North Korea's spent nuclear fuel rods, kept in a cooling pond, are seen at the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, North Korea in this 1996 file photo, released from Yonhap News Agency Feb. 7, 2003. (AP Photo/Yonhap,