WASHINGTON, Jan 1: The United States has no plans to reimpose sanctions on North Korea despite fears the communist state may be reactivating its nuclear weapons programme.

The assurance follows concerns expressed by South Korea that sanctions might raise tensions on the divided peninsula and perhaps even lead to a military conflict with the North.

“I don’t think anybody has suggested at this point imposing sanctions,” State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker said at a briefing in Washington on Monday.

The United States had lifted the sanctions in 1999, following an understanding with North Korea that it would shelve its nuclear weapons programme.

Pyongyang also had accepted UN supervision on its nuclear facilities. But last week it removed monitoring devices the International Atomic Energy Agency installed at its Yongbyon reactor.

The IAEA later reported that North Korea also had removed some of the 4,000 nuclear fuel rods put in storage by the agency. The move caused speculation that the United States may re-impose sanctions on the country, but the State Department rejected such suggestions.

“The Secretary (of State Colin Powell) has not asked any nation to take economic action against this desperately poor country, North Korea,” said Reeker.

“What we’ve talked about ... is that the international community can continue to bring pressure on North Korea by telling them that they’ve put themselves in this position, they’re in serious violation of their international commitments.”

He said North Koreans were responsible for their predicament not only because “they’re the ones who were developing nuclear weapons, contrary to their commitments. They’ve never said that they’re willing to get back into compliance and to abandon their nuclear programme.”