N. Korea has yet to restart Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.S. says+

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 Kyodo -
North Korea has not reactivated its nuclear reactor in Yongbyon although it is
moving closer to doing so, the State Department said Friday.
Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a news briefing that Pyongyang is
getting ''to the point of operationalizing Yongbyon again,'' though ''they
haven't gotten to that point yet.''
''And we would urge them not to get to that point,'' he said.
North Korea said Friday it has begun restoring the Yongbyon nuclear complex to
counter a U.S. decision to delay its removal from Washington's list of
terrorist sponsors.
McCormack pointed to the need to keep tabs on North Korea's moves.
''They have a choice. They can go down the pathway of having a different kind
of relationship with the world...or they can keep themselves isolated, move the
process backward. So we'll see,'' he said.
Asked if the U.S. judgment that Pyongyang has not restarted the reactor is
based on information from U.S. personnel in North Korea, the spokesman replied,
''It's from a variety of different sources, yes.''
North Korea stopped disablement work at the nuclear complex north of the
capital in mid-August and began moving equipment earlier this month to restore
the facilities.
While the U.S. administration became able to take North Korea off the terror
blacklist on Aug. 10, it postponed doing so, saying Pyongyang must first agree
to a regime for verifying information about its nuclear programs.
Under a six-party denuclearization agreement linking North and South Korea, the
United States, China, Japan and Russia, Pyongyang is to disable the Yongbyon
facility and disclose its nuclear information in exchange for economic aid and
diplomatic benefits.