ID :
35586
Sun, 12/14/2008 - 14:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/35586
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea not a 'nuclear power,' but has nukes: U.S. official
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- A senior Pentagon official reiterated on Saturday that the U.S. government does not accept North Korea as a nuclear power, but added that he understands Pyongyang has several nuclear bombs.
"Our objective is to make sure North Korea does not keep that capability," said
the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the
issue.
The United States has been facing skepticism over its policy of not regarding the
North as a nuclear power, in light of recent reports and comments by officials
that indicate otherwise.
In an article appearing in the January-February edition of the U.S.-based Foreign
Policy magazine, titled "Reprogramming the Pentagon for a New Age," Defense
Secretary Robert Gates is quoted as saying: "There is the potentially toxic mix
of rogue nations, terrorist groups, and nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons.
North Korea has built several bombs, and Iran seeks to join the nuclear club."
The Pentagon official said the quote by Gates "reflects the judgment of the U.S.
government intelligence community and that's nothing new." He cited as the most
recent example a report of the National Intelligence Council (NIC) released in
November.
The NIC report, titled "Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World," contains a
passage that reads: "The possibility of a future disruptive regime change or
collapse occurring in a nuclear weapon state such as North Korea also continues
to raise questions regarding the ability of weak states to control and secure
their nuclear arsenals."
The NIC report is the third such example in which the U.S. describes North Korea
as a nuclear state despite its official policy. The U.S. Joint Forces Command
(JFC) drew controversy after it released a report on Dec. 4 that described North
Korea as an Asian nuclear power along with China, India, Pakistan and Russia.
Some critics say that more than a decade of fruitless international efforts
towards the communist state's nuclear disarmament have taught Washington to learn
how to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea. Others say the U.S. government's
primary goal should now be halting North Korea's alleged nuclear
nonproliferation, amid rising concerns over terrorists obtaining radioactive
"dirty bombs."
The Pentagon official disagreed. "The U.S., South Korea and the rest of the
international community support the U.N. resolution for a non-nuclear North
Korea. That's why we have six-party talks towards the North's denuclearization."
The official said he hoped the JFC would soon correct what he described as a
"mistake" in its recent report. "I am sure the JFC will be taking care of
correcting it," he said, but said he was not aware of when that might happen. He
added the JFC's report "reflects the views of individuals, not the policy of the
U.S. government."
Another official, however, expressed doubts that the JFC would alter the report,
titled "Joint Operating Environment (JOE) 2008: Challenges and Implications for
the Future Joint Force."
North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006 and claimed the
test was a success. Experts and policymakers continue to debate that claim.
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
whether Pyongyang actually possesses such weaponry. Some say the North has
developed a primitive nuclear warhead that cannot be loaded on any delivery
system, while others claim Pyongyang's technology is more advanced.
President-elect Obama said on the campaign trail that the North has eight nuclear
weapons, but did not elaborate. The U.S. president-elect has said he will support
the six-party nuclear talks while seeking more direct bilateral engagement.
The latest round of six-party talks ended Thursday without an agreement over how
to verify North Korea's nuclear facilities. Some observers suspect Pyongyang is
waiting for Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20.
North Korean state media has picked up on the controversy over the JFC report.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday in reference to
the document, "It is the first time that a U.S. government report has
acknowledged and announced that North Korea is a nuclear weapons state."
Jack Pritchard, president of the Washington- based Korea Economic Institute,
recently urged the incoming Obama administration to quickly address the North
Korean nuclear issue, saying, "The longer North Korea possesses nuclear weapons,
the harder for them to give it up."
Pritchard, formerly the U.S. point man on North Korea, said in April he was told
by officials in Pyongyang they expected to be able to keep a small arsenal of
nuclear weapons.
Obama has said his administration will seek a drastic curtailment of nuclear arms
globally, including in the U.S., to buttress the fragile Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Some have criticized the treaty on the grounds
that the world's largest nuclear powers have so far been reluctant to do their
part in disarming.
"By keeping our commitment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we'll be
in a better position to press nations like North Korea and Iran to keep theirs,"
Obama said on the campaign trail.
North Korea has long questioned the legitimacy of the non-proliferation regime,
which guarantees nuclear weapons for five existing nuclear powers -- the U.S.,
China, Russia, Britain and France -- while denying other states.
Pyongyang broke from NPT in 2002 after the U.S. claimed that Pyongyang had
clandestinely developed a uranium-based nuclear program in violation of the 1994
Geneva framework agreement.
North Korea has denied both the existence of the uranium program and the
proliferation of its nuclear technology to Syria, as the U.S. has alleged. Those
have been major sticking points in the ongoing six-party denuclearization talks,
which began in 2003 to replace the 1994 agreement.
U.S. President George W. Bush said in August that he was not sure whether North
Korea has any real intention to abandon its nuclear weapons. "That's the
fundamental question, and I can't answer that for you," he said.
North Korea considers its nuclear arsenal as its only working deterrent against
an outside invasion, and has witnessed how Pakistan and India have resumed
amicable ties with the U.S. years after performing nuclear tests.
North Korean media have also said that Iraq was invaded due to lack of nuclear
arsenal.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- A senior Pentagon official reiterated on Saturday that the U.S. government does not accept North Korea as a nuclear power, but added that he understands Pyongyang has several nuclear bombs.
"Our objective is to make sure North Korea does not keep that capability," said
the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the
issue.
The United States has been facing skepticism over its policy of not regarding the
North as a nuclear power, in light of recent reports and comments by officials
that indicate otherwise.
In an article appearing in the January-February edition of the U.S.-based Foreign
Policy magazine, titled "Reprogramming the Pentagon for a New Age," Defense
Secretary Robert Gates is quoted as saying: "There is the potentially toxic mix
of rogue nations, terrorist groups, and nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons.
North Korea has built several bombs, and Iran seeks to join the nuclear club."
The Pentagon official said the quote by Gates "reflects the judgment of the U.S.
government intelligence community and that's nothing new." He cited as the most
recent example a report of the National Intelligence Council (NIC) released in
November.
The NIC report, titled "Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World," contains a
passage that reads: "The possibility of a future disruptive regime change or
collapse occurring in a nuclear weapon state such as North Korea also continues
to raise questions regarding the ability of weak states to control and secure
their nuclear arsenals."
The NIC report is the third such example in which the U.S. describes North Korea
as a nuclear state despite its official policy. The U.S. Joint Forces Command
(JFC) drew controversy after it released a report on Dec. 4 that described North
Korea as an Asian nuclear power along with China, India, Pakistan and Russia.
Some critics say that more than a decade of fruitless international efforts
towards the communist state's nuclear disarmament have taught Washington to learn
how to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea. Others say the U.S. government's
primary goal should now be halting North Korea's alleged nuclear
nonproliferation, amid rising concerns over terrorists obtaining radioactive
"dirty bombs."
The Pentagon official disagreed. "The U.S., South Korea and the rest of the
international community support the U.N. resolution for a non-nuclear North
Korea. That's why we have six-party talks towards the North's denuclearization."
The official said he hoped the JFC would soon correct what he described as a
"mistake" in its recent report. "I am sure the JFC will be taking care of
correcting it," he said, but said he was not aware of when that might happen. He
added the JFC's report "reflects the views of individuals, not the policy of the
U.S. government."
Another official, however, expressed doubts that the JFC would alter the report,
titled "Joint Operating Environment (JOE) 2008: Challenges and Implications for
the Future Joint Force."
North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006 and claimed the
test was a success. Experts and policymakers continue to debate that claim.
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
whether Pyongyang actually possesses such weaponry. Some say the North has
developed a primitive nuclear warhead that cannot be loaded on any delivery
system, while others claim Pyongyang's technology is more advanced.
President-elect Obama said on the campaign trail that the North has eight nuclear
weapons, but did not elaborate. The U.S. president-elect has said he will support
the six-party nuclear talks while seeking more direct bilateral engagement.
The latest round of six-party talks ended Thursday without an agreement over how
to verify North Korea's nuclear facilities. Some observers suspect Pyongyang is
waiting for Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20.
North Korean state media has picked up on the controversy over the JFC report.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday in reference to
the document, "It is the first time that a U.S. government report has
acknowledged and announced that North Korea is a nuclear weapons state."
Jack Pritchard, president of the Washington- based Korea Economic Institute,
recently urged the incoming Obama administration to quickly address the North
Korean nuclear issue, saying, "The longer North Korea possesses nuclear weapons,
the harder for them to give it up."
Pritchard, formerly the U.S. point man on North Korea, said in April he was told
by officials in Pyongyang they expected to be able to keep a small arsenal of
nuclear weapons.
Obama has said his administration will seek a drastic curtailment of nuclear arms
globally, including in the U.S., to buttress the fragile Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Some have criticized the treaty on the grounds
that the world's largest nuclear powers have so far been reluctant to do their
part in disarming.
"By keeping our commitment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we'll be
in a better position to press nations like North Korea and Iran to keep theirs,"
Obama said on the campaign trail.
North Korea has long questioned the legitimacy of the non-proliferation regime,
which guarantees nuclear weapons for five existing nuclear powers -- the U.S.,
China, Russia, Britain and France -- while denying other states.
Pyongyang broke from NPT in 2002 after the U.S. claimed that Pyongyang had
clandestinely developed a uranium-based nuclear program in violation of the 1994
Geneva framework agreement.
North Korea has denied both the existence of the uranium program and the
proliferation of its nuclear technology to Syria, as the U.S. has alleged. Those
have been major sticking points in the ongoing six-party denuclearization talks,
which began in 2003 to replace the 1994 agreement.
U.S. President George W. Bush said in August that he was not sure whether North
Korea has any real intention to abandon its nuclear weapons. "That's the
fundamental question, and I can't answer that for you," he said.
North Korea considers its nuclear arsenal as its only working deterrent against
an outside invasion, and has witnessed how Pakistan and India have resumed
amicable ties with the U.S. years after performing nuclear tests.
North Korean media have also said that Iraq was invaded due to lack of nuclear
arsenal.
