An official at Seoul's Unification Ministry says North Korea's announcement of resumed weapons-grade plutonium production is likely aimed at flaunting its capability, drawing attention from neighboring countries and showing that global sanctions are not working.

The official also took note that instead of North Korea's Foreign Ministry, the country's Atomic Energy Institute did the interview with Japan's Kyodo News, during which the North claimed it restarted plutonium production for nuclear weapons use.

The official cited a similar incident last September when the regime went ahead with a nuclear test and missile launches followed by a remark made by the chief of the North's National Aerospace Development Administration.

The official said that it can be assessed that working-level North Korean officials at the time were sufficiently prepared to carry out the provocations, adding that the latest case also requires close attention.

In a written interview with Kyodo News on Wednesday, the North's Atomic Energy Institute said that it reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods removed from a graphite-moderated reactor and that weapons-grade plutonium was newly produced at the Yongbyon nuclear complex.