SEOUL (AFP) -
The United States Tuesday urged North Korea to refrain from "irresponsible provocation" after the communist state confirmed the restarting of a nuclear reactor seen as its main source of weapons-grade plutonium.
Pyongyang's confirmation, by the head of the North's Atomic Energy Institute (AEI), came hard on the heels of suggestions by the chief of the national space agency of a possible satellite rocket launch next month.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: "North Korea should refrain from irresponsible provocation that serve only to aggravate regional tensions."
He added Pyongyang should "refrain from actions and rhetoric that threaten regional peace and security" and instead "focus instead on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments".
The US intervention came as analysts saw the North Korean moves as aimed at raising tensions in order to place North Korea firmly on the agenda of an expected US-China summit later this month.
In an interview with the North's official KCNA news agency, the director of the AEI, who was not named, said all facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear complex -- including the five-megawatt reactor -- had "started normal operations".
Read more:
http://www.france24.com/en/20150915-us-warns-against-provocation-after-n-korea-confirms-reactor-restart
