Israeli leader pulls out of US talks on spread of nuclear weapons

ISRAEL'S prime minister has called off a trip to Washington days before he was due to attend a conference there on the spread of nuclear weapons. He fears Israel would be singled out over its own nuclear programme, officials said yesterday.

Benjamin Netanyahu had said he would attend the conference to underline the dangers of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons, but suddenly called off the trip less than two days after announcing he would take part.

The move came as Iran unveiled new domestically built centrifuges, as part of plans to accelerate a uranium enrichment programme, and North Korea denounced President Barack Obama's new nuclear strategy as "hostile" and vowed to continue building and expanding its atomic arsenal.

During a ceremony marking Iran's National Day of Nuclear Technology, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled one of the machines to a crowd of dignitaries. The display capped months of announcements about the development of the new machines.

Mr Ahmadinejad declared that there was no way back for Iran's nuclear work, despite opposition from the United States and other world powers, though he insisted it had only peaceful aims like power generation.

The new generation of centrifuges, which spin uranium gas at extremely high speeds to purify it, will allow Iran to produce fuel for as many as six nuclear power plants, the president said.

Israel has called for stiff sanctions against Iran, but at the same time has not taken off the table the option of a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israel considers Iran a strategic threat because of its nuclear programme, ballistic missiles and repeated references by Mr Ahmadinejad to Israel's destruction.

Earlier, officials said Mr Netanyahu performed the U-turn because some nations planned to use the conference to target Israel over its barely-concealed nuclear weapons programme.

In Washington, the National Security Council spokesman, Mike Hammer, confirmed Israel had informed the US that Mr Netanyahu would be sending his deputy, Dan Meridor, instead.

Israel has not admitted possessing nuclear weapons, preferring a policy it calls "ambiguity".

International experts have estimated that Israel has dozens, possibly hundreds, of nuclear bombs.

Meanwhile, North Korea has accused Mr Obama's government of being no better than the Bush administration, "hell-bent on posing a nuclear threat" to the communist nation, and said it would not give up its atomic weapons.

"As long as the US nuclear threat persists, (North Korea] will increase and update various type nuclear weapons as its deterrent, in such a manner as it deems necessary in the days ahead," the official Korean Central News Agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

Beginning on Monday, government leaders from more than 40 countries will gather to discuss improving safeguards against terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons.

Ahead of the conference, the White House announced a major shift in US nuclear policy – a new focus on the threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists and rogue regimes, rather than on the arms race with Russia.