North Korea says it has finished removing used fuel rods from its nuclear plant in Yongbyon.

North Korean media on Wednesday quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying around eight thousand used fuel rods were successfully taken from the five-megawatt plant in the shortest time.

He said the North is proceeding with necessary steps to increase its nuclear arsenal for self-defense, and pushing its independent development of nuclear power.

Pyongyang has already announced that it will build 50 thousand and 200 thousand kilowatt reactors.

In December 2002, the North reactivated the Yongbyon plant after it accused the Bush administration of violating the 1994 Agreement Framework.