"We see no reason at this point to have any concern with regards to the security of either countries' arsenal," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.

Morrell, who did not elaborate, made the comment in response to a question at a news conference about the risk terrorists could obtain nuclear weapons in the current crisis.

"Whenever you are dealing with terrorism in countries that are nuclear powers, it ... creates a heightened concern," he said.

"And so, we want to work with them and any others who find themselves in the situation, to make sure that their nuclear arsenals are always secure," he said.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.