North Korea conducts 'nuclear' tests

Wednesday, 9 July 2003 12:00 AM

North Korea has carried out up to 70 tests as part of its nuclear weapons programme, according to South Korean sources.

The communist regime is alleged to have reprocessed a small number of its spent nuclear fuel rods, which could provide it with weapons-grade plutonium.

Intelligence director Ko Young-koo told parliament that his staff had noticed tests on high-explosive - which can be used to detonate nuclear devices -being conducted near the nuclear site in Yongbyon.

North Korea itself was reported to have claimed that it had begun reprocessing its 8,000 spent rods back in October last year, but there has been no verification of those claims.

There was further confusion towards the end of last year, when the US administration apparently misinterpreted a statement from the North Korean government.

Officials in Pyongyang claimed to have said that the country had a right to nuclear weapons, while Whitehouse sources believed that the statement was an admission of current ownership.

North Korea was supposed to have suspended its nuclear programme under the 1994 nuclear agreement with the US and western allies.

The South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyun, is currently on a visit to China, to try to enlist Beijing's help in finding a peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff.

In a speech today, President Roh called on the North Korean government to abandon its nuclear ambitions and choose the "road to peace and economic development".

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