North Korea said Wednesday it had completed removing spent nuclear fuel rods from a reactor _ a move that could allow it to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium _ in the communist state's latest provocation amid a deadlock in disarmament talks. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said the country had "successfully completed" removing 8,000 fuel rods from its main reactor at Yongbyon, according to a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The step comes after South Korean officials confirmed last month that the Yongbyon reactor was shut down, which would allow the rods to be removed and be reprocessed to extract weapons-grade plutonium. The North didn't specifically say Wednesday it would take such a step. "We are continuing to take necessary measures to increase (our) nuclear arsenal for self-defense purposes," the unnamed spokesman said.
