North Korea says it has resumed reprocessing of spent fuel rods to produce arms-grade plutonium

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday the move will bolster nuclear deterrence for self-defense and cope with increasing military threats from hostile forces.

The announcement came a day after the United Nations imposed sanctions on three North Korean companies for aiding Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs.

The U.N. sanctions committee Friday blacklisted Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, Korea Ryonbong General Corporation and Tanchon Commercial Bank.

Turkish Ambassador Baki Ilkin, who heads the committee, told reporters that the committee also agreed to update a list of items the North will now be forbidden to import or export

A 07 Apr 2009 video grab by N. Korean TV shows a three-stage white rocket, being launched from an undisclosed location in N. Korea

The sanctions mark the first concrete steps against Pyongyang after the Security Council condemned the North's April 5 rocket launch.   Pyongyang says it launched a satellite into orbit, but other countries believe the launch was a ballistic missile test.

North Korea's deputy envoy to the United Nations, Pak Tok Hun, called the committee's decision a "wanton violation of the U.N. Charter."  He said every country has the right to make peaceful use of space.

The rocket launch was considered a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution approved in 2006 forbidding North Korea from long-range ballistic missile tests.

Earlier Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said North Korea does not yet intend to return to international talks on the country's nuclear disarmament. He spoke in Seoul after a two-day visit to Pyongyang