US envoy: North Korea nuclear plant is provocative

Kim Young-Sun

A US scientist said he been shown "more than 1,000 centrifuges" for enriching uranium on a visit to North Korea and had seen a new light-water reactor. Enriched uranium can be used for nuclear fuel or made into weapons.

In the recent news, evidence of a new North Korean nuclear plant is disappointing and provocative, says the top US envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth. But after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan, he said the situation was not "a crisis".

"This is obviously a disappointing announcement," said Mr Bosworth. "It is also another in a series of provocative moves. "We have been watching and analysing the (North's) aspirations to produce enriched uranium for some time, it goes back several years."

He said the new evidence showed North Korea to be in violation of a United Nations resolution. Six-nation talks including the North had resolved in September 2005 to give aid, diplomatic and security benefits to the North if it ended its nuclear programmes.

Mr Bosworth said he thought future six-nation talks could still be held. "It's still breathing and I still think we have a hope that we are going to be able to resuscitate it," he said.

The plant was modern and clean, unlike all the other Yongbyon facilities he had seen, and he was stunned at how sophisticated it was, the Stanford University scientist said.