North Korea ‘restoring’ its nuclear facilities
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that South Korea, the United States and other countries involved in nuclear negotiations with the North are working closely together to determine how to respond to Pyongyang’s latest move.
The statement said the South Korean government was “seriously concerned” about its neighbour’s move, adding that it undermines progress in international disarmament efforts.
The ministry refused to disclose how it confirmed the North had begun work to restore its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon.
Earlier, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News agency reported North Korea started putting its nuclear facility back together yesterday, days after it halted disablement work.
The South Korean statement was vague about the exact timing of Pyongyang’s resumption of work on its nuclear facilities. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that the work began yesterday.
In Washington, the top US diplomat in charge of monitoring compliance with weapons agreements said it was not clear if the North Koreans actually intended to rebuild the facility or were just “posturing”.
“Everyone has known from the beginning that the (disablement) actions they were taking at Yongbyon were reversible,” said Paula deSutter, the assistant secretary of state for verification, compliance, and implementation. DeSutter spoke to reporters before South Korea confirmed reports that the North had restarted its nuclear work.
