North Korea on Tuesday said it completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods in late August. "Noticeable successes have been made in turning the extracted plutonium weapon-grade for the purpose of bolstering the nuclear deterrent," it said.The claim was made by the official KCNA news agency. It said the North was "compelled to take measures for bolstering its deterrent for self-defense against the increasing nuclear threat and military provocations of the hostile forces."
If reprocessing of spent fuel rods has really been completed, it could have obtained some 7-8 kg of plutonium from all 8,000 spent fuel rods, providing enough raw material for one nuclear weapon, for which about 6-7 kg of plutonium is normally needed.
But the claim is not new. In a letter it sent to the UN Security Council president in early September, the North made a similar claim, saying that reprocessing of spent fuel rods was "near completion" and extracted plutonium was being turned into a weapon.
| More from the Voice of America -- US: North Korea Plutonium Production Violates UN Resolutions. Gee. No kidding. That Bambi, has he got an outstanding command of the obvious. |