U.S. intelligence agencies are discounting a report from North Korea that Pyongyang has finished processing 8,000 spent fuel rods and has produced additional plutonium for nuclear bombs.
The North Korean Central News Agency announced Oct. 1 that it has "successfully finished the reprocessing of some 8,000 spent fuel rods." The government news agency also accused the United States of adopting a "hostile policy" and that North Korea has "made a switchover in the use of plutonium churned out by reprocessing spent fuel rods in the direction [of] increasing its nuclear deterrent force."
"There isn't evidence to suggest that they have reprocessed all the rods," a U.S. official said. "U.S. intelligence cannot rule it out, but there isn't evidence pointing in that direction." U.S. officials view the recent statement as North Korean posturing connected to the multi-party talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arms program.
U.S. intelligence officials believe that North Korea has undertaken some nuclear fuel reprocessing at the Yongbyon facility.
But North Korea has previously claimed that it has reprocessed all its fuel rods, and the statement has not been proved.
Meanwhile, North Korea's Foreign Ministry announced earlier this week that the government has "no interest" in talks with the United States unless Washington gives up its demand that Pyongyang end the arms program.
The ministry said the United States is using the talks to "get rid of us by totally disarming us."
North Korea "sincerely endeavored to resolve the nuclear issue...by making all possible concessions," it can make, the statement read. Any continuation of U.S. unilateral demands "will only summon war," it said.
