U.S. denies report it has acknowledged N. Korea as a nuclear power

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- The State Department Wednesday refuted a U.S. defense policy report that described North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, saying the report does not represent the U.S. government's official position.

"That is not our national policy," spokesman Sean McCormack said. "And the
document they referenced does not represent the official views of the United
States."
The spokesman was referring to a recent report of the U.S. Joint Forces Command
(USJFCOM), titled "Joint Operating Environment (JOE) 2008: Challenges and
Implications for the Future Joint Force," which depicted North Korea as one of
five Asian nuclear powers, along with China, India, Pakistan and Russia.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency earlier in the day cited the
U.S. defense report, saying, "It is the first time that a U.S. government report
has acknowledged and announced that North Korea is a nuclear weapons state."
USJFCOM also released a statement on its Web site, saying, "The statement
regarding North Korea does not reflect official U.S. government policy regarding
the status of North Korea. The U.S. government has long said that we will never
accept North Korea as a nuclear power."
"This JOE is fundamentally speculative in nature and is intended to serve as a
starting point for discussions about the future security environment," the
statement said. "The Joint Operating Environment is not meant to be a statement
of policy."
The remarks follow a similar statement by the Pentagon Tuesday that said, "As a
matter of policy, we do not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state. What was
contained in a recent Joint Forces Command report does not reflect official U.S.
government policy regarding the status of North Korea."
The Joint Forces Command, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is responsible for
transforming the U.S. military to meet future threats through education and
experimentation.
The controversy comes at a sensitive time when chief nuclear envoys of the two
Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia are meeting in Beijing to agree on a
verification regime on the nuclear list presented by the North in June.
They, however, have yet to produce an agreement on taking samples from North
Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor in the face of strong resistance by Kim
Kye-gwan, Pyongyang's chief nuclear negotiator, who told the six-way forum that
allowing samples would be tantamount to be getting undressed in front of the
hostile U.S.
Analysts say the North has no intention of dealing further with the outgoing Bush
administration, and is awaiting the inauguration of Barack Obama.
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.
President-elect Obama said on the campaign trail that the North has eight nuclear
weapons, without elaborating.
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 possesses a specific number.
hdh@yna.co.kr