NKorea claims US recognises it as nuclear weapons state

WAR.WIRE

NKorea claims US recognises it as nuclear weapons state
SEOUL, Dec 10 (AFP) Dec 10, 2008
North Korea on Wednesday claimed the United States had recognised it as a nuclear weapons state after a US defence report described it as such.

The outgoing Bush administration has not acknowledged North Korea as a nuclear weapons state as it pushes on with six-party talks aimed at scrapping the communist country's atomic weapons.

Negotiators were meeting Wednesday in Beijing for a third day during the latest round of talks.

"The US government ranked the DPRK (North Korea) among nuclear weapons states," Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said.

"It is the first time that the US officially recognized the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state and announced it in its government report," it added.

The Joint Forces Command report caused a diplomatic flap, with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan denying Wednesday that it reflected Washington's official position.

The US Defense Department also said the report does not reflect Washington's official refusal to recognise North Korea's nuclear status.

"The rim of the great Asian continent is already home to five nuclear powers: China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Russia," said the report.

"North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon and has produced sufficient fissile material to create more such weapons," said the report, entitled "Joint Operating Environment 2008: Challenges and Implications for the Future Joint Force." It was released on November 25.

North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006 and claimed the underground test was a success.

However, outside experts and policymakers said it was only partially successful, citing its low yield.

US and South Korean intelligence authorities have said the North has enough stockpiled plutonium to produce several nuclear warheads.

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.