PlutoNorks

Thanks again, Jimmy Carter!

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Wednesday it has completed removing spent fuel rods from an atomic reactor, enabling it to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium. It was the communist state's latest provocation amid deadlocked talks over Pyongyang's nuclear program.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said the country had "successfully finished" removing 8,000 fuel rods from the reactor at its Yongbyon complex, which was shut down last month, so it can "bolster its nuclear arsenal."

North Korea kicked out international nuclear inspectors in late 2002, making it impossible to verify the claim.

While experts previously said an earlier batch of 8,000 rods could yield enough plutonium for five to eight bombs, South Korean media reported the current batch would likely yield material for only a couple of bombs because of the shorter time it was inside the reactor. To get the plutonium, the rods would need to cool and then be reprocessed, which takes months.

The words "President Jimmy Carter" will continue devolving into three of the most disappointing words in American history. Is this all his fault? No; but he was the one who was always so gung ho for peaceful, diplomatic settlements. It kept him from getting re-elected in 1980, and now it's paid a dividend of plutonium-based nukes in North Korea, where he was the one who put together the peace treaty.

Thanks, Mr. President. Thanks a lot.