North Korea ups nuke standoff stakes

NORTH KOREA raised the stakes in a nuclear standoff yesterday by saying for the first time it had processed fuel rods that could be used to make atomic bombs.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry statement said Pyongyang would continue to boost its nuclear deterrent because the United States remained hostile to the communist North. A vice-foreign minister said Pyongyang would not pass on its nuclear capability to others.

“North Korea successfully finished the reprocessing of some 8,000 spent fuel rods,” said the statement, published by the official KCNA news agency. It dismissed as groundless reports that more international talks could be held soon to try to end the crisis but, significantly, did not rule them out altogether.