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North Korea 'to restart Yongbyon nuclear reactor' | North Korea 'to restart Yongbyon nuclear reactor' |
(35 minutes later) | |
North Korea says it will restart all facilities at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, including a reactor mothballed in 2007. | |
In a statement, it said the move would bolster North Korea's nuclear forces "in quality and quantity". | |
The move is the latest in a series of measures by Pyongyang in the wake of its third nuclear test in February. | The move is the latest in a series of measures by Pyongyang in the wake of its third nuclear test in February. |
It has been angered by the resultant UN sanctions and joint US-South Korea annual military drills. | |
In recent weeks the communist state has issued a series of threats against both South Korean and US targets, to which the US has responded with high-profile movements of advanced aircraft and warships around the Korean peninsula. | |
The reactor at Yongbyon - which was the source for plutonium for North Korea's nuclear weapons programme - was closed in July 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal. | |
The cooling tower at the facility was later destroyed, but then the disarmament deal stalled. | |
Part of the reason the agreement fell apart was because the US and North Korea's other negotiating partners did not believe Pyongyang was fully disclosing all of its nuclear facilities. | |
The statement, carried by KCNA news agency, was attributed to a spokesman for the General Department of Atomic Energy. | |
The department had decided "to adjust and alter the uses of the existing nuclear facilities" including "readjusting and restarting all the nuclear facilities in Nyongbyon [Yongbyon]". | |
The work would be put into practice without delay, the statement said. |