North Korea to stop disabling nuclear facilities

By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Tuesday it will stop disabling its nuclear facilities and consider restoring the Yongbyon reactor that can make material for atomic bombs, accusing the United States of violating a disarmament deal.

"We have decided to immediately suspend disabling our nuclear facilities," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a foreign ministry official as saying.

"This measure has been effective on August 14 and related parties have been notified of it," the official said.

The United States called the move a step backward and reiterated North Korea must disable its facilities before the isolated country is removed from a terrorism blacklist that restricts investment.

"It is a violation of their commitments to the six-party framework. It certainly is in violation of the principle of action for action," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood in Washington.

But U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought to play down the North Korean announcement.

"We actually are in discussions with the North Koreans and I think we'll just see where we come out in a few weeks," Rice said, speaking in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Rice said Washington had made it very clear in disarmament talks involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States that it was awaiting a verification mechanism that could assure the accuracy of North Korea's statement.