N Korea threatens to pull out of armistice

The threat came as the two Cold War foes prepared for ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the cease-fire to end the three-year war.

The North's ruling Workers Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said Pyongang would take a "strong step" to pull out the agreement if Washington built up its forces on the peninsula and imposed a blockade on the Stalinist state.

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The United States had misused the armistice "for serving their despicable purpose" and worked hard to "bedevil" inter-Korean relations, it charged.

"The reality goes to clearly prove who is chiefly to blame for the tensions and the danger of war on the Korean peninsula and who truly wants peace and stability or who is their wicked disturber," Rodong said.

It said the armistice accord (AA) was "fated to be abrogated when any party pulls out of it."

"If the US persists in its moves to start a war against the DPRK (North Korea), it can no longer remain bound to the defunct AA to leave the peace of the country and the destiny of the nation to the tender mercy of outside forces and stay idle."

Meanwhile, strong evidence has emerged that North Korea may have built a second, secret plant for producing weapons-grade plutonium, The New York Times reported on its Web site Saturday.

Citing US and Asian officials with access to the latest intelligence, the newspaper said the potential discovery could complicate both the diplomatic strategy for ending the program and the military options if that diplomacy fails.

The new evidence came after North Korea announced it had completed processing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods, which are enough to make about six nuclear weapons.