DPRK announces Uranium enrichment in final stage

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In a letter to the UN Security Council, the DPRK announced it is in the final stage of enriching uranium, a process opening a second path to making nuclear arms.

The DPRK informed the UN Security Council it is reprocessing spent fuel rods and extracted plutonium to make weapons. The country says its latest moves were in response to tighter sanctions.

Moon Tae-Young, S. Korea Foreign Ministry Spokesman, said, "It is regretful the DPRK is showing a retrogressive attitude towards the execution of the UN resolution."

The DPRK's announcement comes a day after a US special envoy arrived in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials.

Stephen Bosworth, US Special Envoy to DPRK, said, "We are agreed that complete, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula remains our core objective in our ongoing efforts with the DPRK. We also agreed this is a problem that has the kind of manifestations that require it be dealt with on a multilateral basis. We would be open to bilateral engagement as well, but only within the context of the six-party process."

In April,the DPRK quit six-nation talks aimed at ending its nuclear program. It then conducted its second nuclear test in May, drawing international condemnation and new UN sanctions.