Washington, July 13: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today it was unclear whether North Korea's claim that it has completed the reprocessing of spent fuel rods to extract plutonium for nuclear weapon was true. Asked about South Korean press reports that UN-based North Korean envoys told US officials last week in New York that the reprocessing operation was completed on June 30, Rumsfeld told: "They have told us they have nuclear weapons, they have also made assertions with respect to the pace at which they're reprocessing."
"Some people believe what they are saying, other people don't belive what they are saying," the Defense Secretary added.
Rumsfeld reiterated that President George W. Bush's administration had been working with Japan, South Korea, China and Russia and "demonstrated deep concern about the fact that the North Korean nuclear programme is progressing."
Bureau Report