North Korea vows to restart reactor

North Korea said yesterday it would revive a mothballed nuclear reactor able to produce weapons-grade plutonium.

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SEOUL // North Korea said yesterday it would revive a mothballed nuclear reactor able to produce weapons-grade plutonium.

But it stressed that it was seeking a deterrent capacity and did not repeat recent threats to attack South Korea and the United States.

The United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, said the crisis over North Korea had gone too far and he appealed for dialogue and negotiation to resolve the situation.

"Nuclear threats are not a game. Aggressive rhetoric and military posturing only result in counter-actions, and fuel fear and instability," Mr Ban said during a visit to Andorra.

The crisis flared after Pyongyang was hit with US sanctions for conducting a third nuclear test in February. The US and South Korea responded by staging military drills that North Korea viewed as "hostile".

Pyongyang then threatened a nuclear strike on the US, missile strikes on its Pacific bases and war with South Korea.

The state-owned KCNA news agency announced yesterday that North Korea would relaunch all nuclear facilities for both electricity and military uses.

A speech by the North's young leader, Kim Jong-un, given on Sunday but published in full by KCNA yesterday, appeared to dampen prospects of a direct confrontation with the US.

"Our nuclear strength is a reliable war deterrent and a guarantee to protect our sovereignty," Mr Kim said.