WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. called for North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions on Tuesday, saying it would be "extremely alarming" if Pyongyang follows through on a vow to restart its plutonium reactor.
North Korea said Tuesday it will also ramp up production of nuclear weapons material. It's the latest in a ratcheting up of tensions coinciding with annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. is taking steps to ensure it has the capacity to defend itself and its allies, and that President Barack Obama is being updated regularly.
"The entire national security team is focused on it," Carney said.
But Carney noted that a string of threats from North Korea toward the U.S. and South Korea so far have not been backed up by action, calling the threats part of a counterproductive pattern. He called on Russia and China, two countries he said have influence on North Korea, to use that influence to persuade the North to change course.
A spokesman for North Korea's General Department of Atomic Energy said Tuesday scientists will quickly begin "readjusting and restarting" the facilities at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex, including the plutonium reactor and a uranium enrichment plant. Both could produce fuel for nuclear weapons.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said it would be in clear violation of Pyongyang's international commitments. But Nuland added there was "a long way to go" between the North stating an intention and following through on it. She reiterated the U.S. would not accept North Korea as a nuclear state. North Korea has a nuclear weapons program and has conducted three underground nuclear tests.
Nuland spoke ahead of a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.
Associated PressWalmart.com detroit lions Thanksgiving Day cooking a turkey toysrus how to carve a turkey ipad 2
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.