N Korea 'reprocessing fuel rods'

North Korea has started to reprocess spent fuel rods at its nuclear plant, says the country's state media.

The reprocessing is a possible move towards producing weapons grade plutonium and comes after Pyongyang's launch of a long-range rocket in April.

Earlier, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on three North Korean companies in response to the launch.

Pyongyang said it would ignore the sanctions, describing them as "a wanton violation of the UN charter".

"The reprocessing of spent fuel rods from the pilot atomic power plant began as declared in the Foreign Ministry statement dated April 14," North Korea's Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying.

That was the date that Pyongyang announced it was pulling out of talks on its nuclear programme and would restart its Yongbyon reactor.

The official said the reprocessing would "contribute to bolstering the nuclear deterrence for self-defence in every way to cope with the increasing military threats from the hostile forces".