North Korea warns it may use nuclear weapons

The Straits Times

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's lead official at nuclear weapons talks in China acknowledged to a US envoy that his country has nuclear weapons and said whether Pyongyang tests, exports or uses its bombs depends on US actions, a senior US official said on Thursday.

The comment was made by North Korean delegate Ri Gun to Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly during a social gathering on Wednesday after formal discussions on the North's nuclear weapons programme.

Continued.

Mr Kelly did not respond to the comment, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, Mr Ri said during the plenary session earlier that North Korea has reprocessed all 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods in its possession.

If true, that would put North Korea much closer to building six to eight additional weapons beyond the one or two it was believed to have.

The US official said Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessments indicate that reprocessing has not yet started. The discrepancy, the official said, suggests the either Mr Ri is lying or the United States has suffered a major intelligence failure.

Last Friday, North Korea said that after initial preparations, it was 'at the point' of reprocessing, a statement apparently designed to increase its leverage heading in to this week's talks.

The talks this week in Beijing, with China serving as full partner, were designed to address international concern over the North's weapons programme.

The State Department refused on Thursday to characterise the talks.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said any attempts by the communist regime to intimidate the US will fail.

A US official said there were no indications that a nuclear test by North Korea was imminent but acknowledged that preparations for an underground test could be concealed. Another official said the North Koreans never used the word 'test' in the discussions.

North Korea has not publicly disclosed whether it has a nuclear weapons capability. The CIA believes it has one or two such weapons.

One positive note during the talks for the US was a statement by China on Wednesday, during a closed door plenary session, in support of a denuclearised Korean peninsula. The Chinese also reminded the North Koreans that they had promised South Korea in 1992 that they would not develop nuclear weapons.

US officials considered the comments by the Chinese to be significant because China has been a friend of North Korea and an important source of food and energy.

After three-way talks on Wednesday, Thursday's discussions were limited to a one-on-one US-China meeting and a one-on-one China-North Korea encounter.

Friday's agenda remained up in the air. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said more two-way talks involving the same participants may be held on Friday along with a final three-way discussion. He said direct US-North Korean talks were unlikely. -- AP

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