U.S. expert saw hundreds of centrifuges in North Korea

Washington has believed since 2002 that Pyongyang had such a program but the apparent sophistication of its effort could ignite fresh debate over how to deal with North Korea's unpredictable leadership and whether to resume talks aimed at ending its nuclear ambitions.
North Korean officials took the expert, Siegfried Hecker of Stanford University, to a plant at its Yongbyon nuclear complex where he saw hundreds and hundreds of centrifuges, the sources told Reuters.
The officials said they had 2,000 centrifuges in operation but the U.S. team that visited the country was unable to verify that, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"But it certainly looked like an operating facility (to the team)," one source said.
Another source said Hecker was "stunned" by how modern and sophisticated the uranium enrichment facility appeared to be. Read more.