CRAWFORD, Texas, July 22 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush appeared to shrug off evidence North Korea is producing plutonium, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Asked at his Texas ranch about the evidence that North Korea may have begun producing plutonium at a second, hidden nuclear facility, Bush said it was "nothing new" that the country was trying to "convince the world that they're in the process of developing a nuclear arsenal."
Nearly two weeks ago, North Korean officials declared they had completed reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods, enough to make about a half dozen nuclear bombs. U.S. officials, however, have not been able to verify that.
Bush insisted cooperation with China on a diplomatic solution was moving forward and said U.S. allies would work "to convince Kim Jong Il," the North Korean leader, "that his decision is an unwise decision."
