A nuclear arms expert says North Korea will complete reprocessing weapons-grade plutonium in about a year.

Charles Ferguson, a member of the privately run U.S. Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), made the remarks Friday during an interview with Radio Free Asia.

Ferguson said that if the North's recent announcement of fuel rod extraction is true, it would take about six months to cool spent fuel rods and seal them in order to prevent radioactive contamination, and another six months for plutonium extraction and reprocessing.

The expert also predicted that the North would either resume the operation of the five-megawatt Yongbyon reactor or restart suspended construction of a 50-megawatt and a 200-megawatt plant.

He added that the reactivation of the five megawatt reactor would be a likely signal that the North is intending to produce more plutonium.