NKorea halts denuclearisation

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

SEOUL (AFP) — North Korea said Tuesday it has stopped disabling its nuclear plants and will consider restoring them because the United States has failed to remove it from a terrorism blacklist.

The communist state accused the US of an "outright violation" of a six-nation nuclear disarmament deal and said work to make the plutonium-producing plants at Yongbyon unusable had halted on August 14.

"Secondly, the DPRK (North Korea) will consider soon a step to restore the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon to their original state as strongly requested by its relevant institutions," said a foreign ministry spokesman.

The US says the North must accept strict procedures to verify the declaration it made in June of its nuclear activities before it can be taken off the...