North Korea has declared it has nuclear weapons. A statement issued through the Korean Central News Agency on 10 February said US hostility had forced the country to 鈥渂olster its nuclear weapons arsenal鈥�.
Since withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 2003, North Korea has often referred to its capacity for nuclear deterrence, but this is the first time it has said explicitly it has nuclear weapons. It probably has enough fissile material to make between five and ten bombs, according to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) in Monterey, California.
North Korea also withdrew from the 鈥渟ix-nation鈥� talks that included the US and Russia. The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, who has previously labelled the country an 鈥渙utpost of tyranny鈥�, said the North Koreans 鈥渁re only deepening their isolation鈥�.
Advertisement
Daniel Pinkston, a specialist on North Korea at CNS, argues that the US can help by holding bilateral talks. 鈥淏y ignoring the North Koreans you will not get cooperation in a million years.鈥�
