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Quoting U.S. government officials, Fox said, “The North, after halting the disassembly of a key nuclear center, is now putting the center back together... The motive isn't clear but sources say North Koreans likely are reassembling nuclear facilities at Yongbyon partly to protest the United States' delay in taking the country off its list of terrorist-sponsoring nations." A U.S. government official was quoted as saying, "They've been threatening this move for some time."

But the channel added, "Even now, piecing the facility back together is seen as a symbolic gesture because so much already has been taken apart." Experts predict that it will take more than a year to restore the nuclear facilities. Another U.S. official said North Korea's intent might be "to put further pressure on us." “The cooling tower is gone but the reactor could be back in operation in two to three months,” the official said.

In a statement on Tuesday last week, North Korea said it was suspending nuclear disablement and restoring facilities, citing U.S. failure to remove it from the list of terrorist-sponsoring nations “by the agreed date” (Aug. 11), which it claimed was “a clear violation” of the Oct. 3, 2007 agreement.

A South Korean government official said, "As of Tuesday, no North Korean media have reported North Korea's reassembly of nuclear facilities. But it's no wonder that North Korea is reassembling them since it already announced last Tuesday that it will do so."

The Foreign Ministry said it is trying to confirm the report. “We're concerned that North Korea's reassembly of nuclear facilities at Yongbyon could cause serious damage to the denuclearization process in the six-party talks,” a spokesman said.

The National Intelligence Service said it is following developments.

(englishnews@chosun.com )