NORTH KOREA SAYS IT HAS MADE FUEL FOR ATOM BOMBS
North Korean officials tell Bush administration that they have finished producing enough plutonium to make half-dozen nuclear bombs and that they intend to move ahead quickly to turn material into weapons; American intelligence agencies scramble to determine if this is bluff or if government of Kim Jong Il has really succeeded in producing material undetected; most recent tests suggest nuclear work has accelerated, but results are inconclusive; more test results are expected this week; North Korea's declaration, if true, would pose direct challenge to Pres Bush, who said two months ago that nuclear-armed North Korea 'will not be tolerated'; he decided early this year that it is too risky to take military action against main nuclear reprocessing plant at Yongbyon; now he must decide whether to negotiate with North--under its implicit nuclear threat--or hold fast to his insistence that any talks must include other regional nations, and that nuclear blackmail would be met with increasingly harsh sanctions; Bush is resisting bilateral talks for fear that Asian nations would press US to reach deal similar to one Clinton administration signed--'freeze' on nuclear activity in return for aid (M)
