ID :
34715
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 08:36
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34715
The shortlink copeid
U.S. defense report categorizes N. Korea as nuclear power
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. defense report categorized North Korea as a
nuclear power amid fears the North's nuclear armament could deepen tensions among
regional rivals.
"The rim of the great Asian continent is already home to five nuclear powers:
China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Russia," said the report, titled "Joint
Operating Environment (JOE) 2008: Challenges and Implications for the Future
Joint Force."
The outgoing Bush administration has not acknowledged North Korea as a nuclear
weapons state amid ongoing multilateral talks on ending North Korea's atomic
weapons development.
North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006 and claimed the
test was a success. Debate continues, however, among experts and policymakers
over whether the detonation should in fact be seen as a success due to its low
yield.
"North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon and has produced sufficient fissile
material to create more such weapons," said the report. It was released Nov. 25.
President-elect Barack Obama made several statements while on the campaign trail
that the North did indeed have up to eight nuclear weapons.
U.S. and South Korean intelligence authorities have said the North has enough
plutonium to produce several nuclear warheads, but have yet to officially confirm
Pyongyang already possess a specific number.
The report also categorized South Korea, Taiwan and Japan as three "threshold
nuclear states," saying they "have the capability to develop nuclear weapons
quickly, should their political leaders decide to do so."
"In effect, there is a growing arc of nuclear powers running from Israel in the
west through an emerging Iran to Pakistan, India and on to China, North Korea and
Russia in the east," the report said. "Unfortunately, that nuclear arc coincides
with areas of considerable instability - regions that because of their economic
power and energy resources are of enormous interest to the United States."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. defense report categorized North Korea as a
nuclear power amid fears the North's nuclear armament could deepen tensions among
regional rivals.
"The rim of the great Asian continent is already home to five nuclear powers:
China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Russia," said the report, titled "Joint
Operating Environment (JOE) 2008: Challenges and Implications for the Future
Joint Force."
The outgoing Bush administration has not acknowledged North Korea as a nuclear
weapons state amid ongoing multilateral talks on ending North Korea's atomic
weapons development.
North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006 and claimed the
test was a success. Debate continues, however, among experts and policymakers
over whether the detonation should in fact be seen as a success due to its low
yield.
"North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon and has produced sufficient fissile
material to create more such weapons," said the report. It was released Nov. 25.
President-elect Barack Obama made several statements while on the campaign trail
that the North did indeed have up to eight nuclear weapons.
U.S. and South Korean intelligence authorities have said the North has enough
plutonium to produce several nuclear warheads, but have yet to officially confirm
Pyongyang already possess a specific number.
The report also categorized South Korea, Taiwan and Japan as three "threshold
nuclear states," saying they "have the capability to develop nuclear weapons
quickly, should their political leaders decide to do so."
"In effect, there is a growing arc of nuclear powers running from Israel in the
west through an emerging Iran to Pakistan, India and on to China, North Korea and
Russia in the east," the report said. "Unfortunately, that nuclear arc coincides
with areas of considerable instability - regions that because of their economic
power and energy resources are of enormous interest to the United States."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
