North Korea backing away from nuclear deal

KOREA: North Korea said on Friday it was working on restarting its nuclear plant and dismissed the prospect of being removed from a U.S. terrorism blacklist in return for a disarmament deal.

The North said it had begun work to rebuild the Soviet-era Yongbyon nuclear plant, which made bomb-grade plutonium.

The plant previously was being taken apart under a much-delayed disarmament-for-aid deal it reached with five countries, including the United States.

"The DPRK (North Korea) neither wishes to be delisted as a 'state sponsor of terrorism' nor expects such a thing to happen," the North's official KCNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.

Work has been under way to restore Yongbyon's nuclear facilities "to their original state," the spokesman said. In Washington, the United States reacted calmly to the announcement, saying North Korea had not yet made the plant operational.

"They have not got to that point yet. We would urge them not to get to that point," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said when asked about North Korea's statement.

Seoul, Sunday, Reuters