Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea said it finished reprocessing spent fuel rods to extract plutonium used in nuclear weapons as the communist country pressures the U.S. to agree to bilateral talks on its atomic program.

“Noticeable successes have been made in turning the extracted plutonium weapon-grade,” the country’s official Korean Central News Agency said today. North Korea had completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods at the end of August at its main Yongbyon complex, the report said.

The statement comes a day after the communist country threatened to “go its own way” if the U.S. doesn’t commit to direct talks on its nuclear weapons ambitions. Kim Jong Il’s regime withdrew from multilateral disarmament negotiations in April in protest against the United Nations’ condemnation of its firing of a long-range missile over Japan.

North Korea detonated its second nuclear device in May, less than three years after its first test in 2006.

The country “was compelled to take measures for bolstering up its deterrent for self-defense to cope with the increasing nuclear threat and military provocations of the hostile forces,” KCNA said today.

North Korea yesterday said the United States must make a decision on talks between the two countries, a condition set by the regime in Pyongyang to rejoin the multinational negotiations talks with China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

Premier Wen

Last month, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao spent three days in the North, where he said the nuclear issue occupied four of the 10 hours of discussions he had with leaders including Kim Jong Il. During that visit, Kim said he would be willing to return to six-party talks, depending on the outcome of bilateral negotiations with the U.S.

The administration of President Barack Obama responded by saying it was willing to hold bilateral negotiations that lead North Korea to “complete denuclearization.”

Last week, North Korean nuclear negotiator Ri Gun held talks with American counterpart Sung Kim in the U.S.

The U.S. and North Korea need to clear their “hostile relationship” before any meaningful progress can be made in the six-party talks, KCNA said yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bomi Lim in Seoul at blim30@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 3, 2009 03:41 EST