21.   The West fears that North Korea may intend to reprocess the fuel into the plutonium needed to manufacture nuclear weapons.

22.   A ship now is headed to Japan from France with nuclear waste left over after reprocessing spent fuel to extract plutonium for the Monju reactor.

23.   An investigation into the accident showed JCO routinely skipped crucial security steps while reprocessing fuel.

24.   France has no such plans and does lucrative business reprocessing nuclear fuel from German power plants.

25.   France, which has no such plans, does lucrative business reprocessing nuclear fuel from German power plants.

26.   Japan has little capability to reprocess spent fuel and it sends the waste to Britain and France, where it is treated and sent back to Japan.

27.   Japan has little capability to reprocess spent fuel, so it sends the waste to Britain and France for reprocessing.

28.   Japan has little capability to reprocess spent fuel, so it sends the waste to Britain and France.

29.   Mayak, a leading nuclear weapons plant during Soviet times, now reprocesses nuclear fuel.

30.   North Korea has denied it is reprocessing spent fuel from an experimental nuclear complex to build atomic weapons, but it has balked at international inspections of the complex.