The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a report to parliament that North Korea's claim last week that it possessed nuclear weapons could be true.

Pyongyang's announcement came as no surprise to Washington which has for years believed that North Korea has developed one or two crude nuclear devices.

But the NIS report maintained that North Korea's nuclear technology falls short of allowing it to launch a nuclear-tipped missile, Yonhap news agency quoted the confidential report as saying.

"North Korea might have developed one or two nuclear bombs, but if it did, it may not have the technology to launch them on a missile," the NIS report said, according to Yonhap.

The intelligence agency dismissed an earlier claim by Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan that he witnessed a North Korean missile carrying a nuclear warhead during a visit to the Stalinist country.

A year ago Khan, the godfather of Pakistan's atomic programme, admitted passing on nuclear technology to North Korea and other countries.

"We believe North Korea has not acquired enough technology to miniaturize nuclear bombs which must weigh less than 500 kilograms to be mounted on a missile," the report said.

North Korea has a well-advanced missile programme. Washington fears it will achieve the technical goal of marrying its ballistic missile development with its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Then-CIA Director George Tenet said two years ago he suspected that North Korea was perfecting a missile that could deliver a nuclear bomb to most parts of the continental United States.

Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, also said at that time that the Taepodong-2 missile could target parts of the US with a nuclear weapon-sized payload in a two-stage configuration.

He said it could target all of North America if a third stage was used.

The reclusive country is reportedly developing Taepodong-2 with a range of 6,700 kilometers (4,150 miles).

The advanced status of Pyongyang's missile programme was demonstrated in 1998 when Pyongyang test-fired a Taepodong-1 missile with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers that overflew Japan.

It also has short-range Scud-Bs with a range of 300 kilometers as well as Scud-Cs with a range of 500 kilometers, targeting South Korea.

According to a news report Tuesday, Pyongyang has recently deployed a new "Scud-ER" with a 1,000 kilometer range.

It also has intermediate-range Rodong missiles with a 1,300 kilometer range which can hit targets in most areas of Japan.

In its statement last week Pyongyang also said that it would pull out of six-party talks on the nuclear standoff, prompting China and Russia to pledge intensified efforts to bring the Stalinist state back to dialogue.

The United States, the two Koreas, China, Russia and Japan met for three rounds of talks on the North's nuclear program.

But Pyongyang scrapped a fourth round planned for September, citing Washington's "hostile" policy.

North Korea's latest outburst may have strengthened the hand of US hawks who are seeking further to isolate it.

That would drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, which opposes any move to pressure North Korea and has vowed to carry on with its engagement policy.

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