North Korea Says It Is Using Plutonium to Make A-Bombs

While claiming to be producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, Pyongyang's vice foreign minister also emphasized that "We have no intention of transferring any means of that nuclear deterrence to other countries." Apparently, the communist regime wants to avoid pushing Washington so far that the Bush administration would declare the need for a pre-emptive strike. But analysts believe North Korea is indeed trying to increase pressure on the US to agree to some of its demands. Despite Pyongyang's denials of any intention to return to the negotiation table, South Korea's vice unification minister, Cho Kun Shik, said in Seoul that six-way talks on the de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula will continue. "We believe that North Korea has a clear will to continue the talks," he said, adding that the North's recent comments are a "tactic to boost its negotiating power." North Korea is seeking a nonaggression pact with the US before it will give up its nuclear weapons projects. – YaleGlobal