April 19, 2005
By Barbara Slavin
USA TODAY
NEW YORK — North Korea has shut down its nuclear reactor and plans to remove the fuel to make bombs and "increase our deterrent" against a possible U.S. attack, North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations Han Songryol said in an interview Monday.
If North Korea carries out the threat, it would mark the second time in two years that it has removed fuel rods from its reactor in Yongbyon to make bomb material. The reclusive nation claims it has nuclear weapons, and the CIA has estimated it possesses from two to eight; reprocessing this reactor fuel could give it an additional six.
North Korea's new declaration could be an attempt to push the United States to negotiate over the North Korean nuclear program on more conciliatory terms.
The Bush administration has demanded that North Korea dismantle its nuclear program and said it will talk with the North Koreans only in the context of six-party talks that also include South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.
The North Koreans say they want a one-on-one promise from the United States not to attack it or seek economic sanctions; only after such an assurance would it consider discussing its nuclear program. The six-party talks have been stalled for almost a year because neither side will compromise.
Removing fuel rods from the 5-megawatt reactor is the first step in obtaining the necessary plutonium, and the rods can be removed only after the reactor is shut down.
But it is also possible that operations have stopped for routine maintenance and that North Korea is using the occasion for saber-rattling.
Reuters reported that South Korea confirmed the reactor shutdown, citing comments by Kim Sook, director-general of North American affairs at South Korea's Foreign Ministry, to South Korea's KBS Radio.
"The ball is in the U.S. court," Han said in the interview here. "We asked the United States to change its hostile policy. Then we can believe the United States and enter the disarmament process. If the U.S. policy is normal and friendly, (North Korea) will feel safe."
Han, North Korea's No. 2 official at the U.N., is in charge of dealing with the United States. He complained that harsh U.S. rhetoric about his country — such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's remark that North Korea is an "outpost of tyranny" — had made it difficult to resume discussions.
The Bush administration has said repeatedly that it has no intention of invading North Korea but has sharply criticized the country's authoritarian government.
The White House said Monday it would consider taking North Korea to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions if Pyongyang refuses to return to the talks.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan, traveling with President Bush on a day trip to South Carolina, said North Korea "made a commitment" to return to the talks and "we want to see them follow through on that."
"I don't know that we've set a timetable, but if they refuse to come back to the talks, then we would have to consult with our partners and look at the next steps," he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-04-19-1a-nkorea_x.htm