US detects nuclear activity in North Korea

US intelligence analysts have detected slight “increases of activity” around a North Korean nuclear plant but have made no “hard conclusions” on whether the country is reprocessing nuclear fuel for potential weapons use, US officials said yesterday.

“It’s fair to say the experts have come to no hard conclusions,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.

Another US official said intelligence analysts had detected within the last week “some slight increases of activity” around the Yongbyon plant.