SEOUL, June 13 (Reuters) - North Korea said today it would start a uranium enrichment programme and vowed to weaponise all of its plutonium in response to U.N. punishment for its nuclear test.
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| A South Korean marine attends a drill to prepare against possible invasion of North Korea on Friday. Reuters |
Pyongyang also threatened military action if the United States and its allies tried to isolate it.
The Security Council approved a resolution on Friday which banned all weapons exports from North Korea and most arms imports into the state. It authorised U.N. member states to inspect North Korean sea, air and land cargo, requiring them to seize and destroy goods shipped that violate the sanctions.
"We'll take firm military action if the United States and its allies try to isolate us," KCNA news agency quoted an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying in a statement.
He also said the North would start a programme to enrich uranium for a light-water reactor. Experts said the North does not have the technology or the resources to build one of the costly reactors but may use the programme as cover to enrich uranium for weapons.
The spokesman added that the North would "weaponise all plutonium and we've reprocessed more than one-third of our spent nuclear fuel rods".
North Korea responded to U.N. punishment for an April rocket launch, widely seen as a disguised long-range missile test, by saying it had restarted its plant that separates plutonium from spent fuel rods and threatening to test fire an intercontinental ballistic missile. |
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