Seoul, South Korea, May 11, SPA -- North Korea said Wednesday ithad completed removing spent nuclear fuel rods from areactor _ a move that could allow it to harvest moreweapons-grade plutonium _ in the communist state's latestprovocation amid a deadlock in disarmament talks. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said the countryhad "successfully completed" removing 8,000 fuel rodsfrom its main reactor at Yongbyon, according to a statementcarried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The step comes after South Korean officials confirmed lastmonth that the Yongbyon reactor was shut down, which wouldallow the rods to be removed and be reprocessed to extractweapons-grade plutonium. The North didn't specifically sayWednesday it would take such a step. "We are continuing to take necessary measures to increase(our) nuclear arsenal for self-defense purposes," theunnamed spokesman said.--SPA1449 Local Time 1149 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/261540