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SEOUL: South Korea's defence chief said Tuesday that North Korea appeared to be pushing forward with a uranium enrichment programme, stoking fears the secretive communist state may use it for nuclear weapons.
"It appears to be clear that North Korea is pushing ahead with (uranium enrichment)," Defence Minister Lee Sang-Hee told parliament.
Regional tension spiked after North Korea on May 25 carried out its second nuclear test, followed by missile launches, which resulted in new UN sanctions.
The North has also vowed to build more nuclear bombs and to start a new weapons programme based on uranium enrichment.
Lee said the enrichment process was easier for North Korea to hide than reprocessing its plutonium stockpiles for atomic warheads because "it can be done in a space as small as 600 square meters (6,500 square feet)".
US claims in 2002 that Pyongyang was running a secret uranium enrichment programme, in addition to its admitted plutonium-based operation, led to the collapse of a nuclear disarmament deal.
On Tuesday North Korea renewed its confrontational rhetoric, threatening to bolster its nuclear deterrence against the United States, amid suspicions that it is preparing to fire more missiles.
The cabinet newspaper Minju Joson said North Korea would go ahead with an "open nuclear confrontation" with the United States, citing a "grave" situation.
North Korea "will strengthen its self-defensive nuclear deterrent to safeguard its sovereignty and safety," the paper said in a commentary.
The North's policy has grown notably harder-line this year, after leader Kim Jong-Il was widely believed to have suffered a stroke last August.
US and South Korean officials believe the ailing Kim is projecting an image of strength to bolster his authority as he prepares one of his sons for a takeover.
Meanwhile, a South Korean delegation has left for North Korea to prepare for talks amid growing concerns over the future of their last remaining reconciliation project.
The South's unification ministry said a four-member team travelled to the estate just north of the heavily fortified border to check preparations for talks on Thursday.
The ministry says the fate of a South Korean estate manager detained by the North since March 30 must be a priority in the negotiations.
The estate's future has become increasingly uncertain as inter-Korean relations have worsened and the North's nuclear standoff with the outside world has intensified.
At previous talks, the North demanded a wage rise for its 40,000 workers at the Kaesong estate to US$300 a month from around US$75 currently.
It also demanded an increase in rent for the estate to US$500 million, compared with the current US$16 million for a 50-year contract.
The impoverished country received US$26 million last year in wage payments from Kaesong. Some analysts say it may be willing to forgo the cash because it fears the effects of exposing its workers to a South Korean lifestyle.
Cross-border relations have been hostile for the past year after the South's conservative government rolled back Seoul's previous "sunshine" aid and engagement policy with Pyongyang.
The North has intermittently restricted access to Kaesong and expelled some South Korean staff.
- AFP/yb
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