N. Korea will never be called a nuclear state: defense minister

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will never be recognized as a nuclear
state despite its continued ambitions, as the term only refers to nations who
already possessed nuclear capabilities when an international non-proliferation
treaty was adopted, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday.
The remarks come one day after a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command
categorized the communist North as one of five nuclear powers in Asia, along with
China, Russia, India and Pakistan.
The U.S. State Department has dismissed the categorization as a simple mistake,
saying, "That is not our national policy. And the document they referenced does
not represent the official views of the United States."
Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee, however, noted Pyongyang may try use Washington's
mistake to its advantage and promote itself as a nuclear power.
"The most important issue in dealing with the North Korean issue is to completely
verify their past and current nuclear activities," Lee said while meeting with
senior political editors from the country's major news outlets, including Yonhap.
"Regardless of whether the North is or is not a nuclear state, the military is
taking every measure to be fully prepared for any type of aggression," he added.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test two years ago, but both Seoul and
Washington refuse to recognize the communist nation as a nuclear power, saying
the 2006 test was only a partial success.
The controversy is expected to grow as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who
will stay on as defense chief under the incoming Obama administration, recently
said North Korea may already possess several nuclear bombs.
In an article published in the latest edition of the U.S. magazine Foreign
Affairs, Gates said North Korea "has built several bombs, and Iran seeks to join
the nuclear club."
Seoul and Washington have so far only said the communist nation is believed to
have produced enough plutonium to produce several nuclear weapons, but that there
is no way to confirm whether the North has in fact produced any nuclear bombs.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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