- (Reuters) -- North Korea appears to have built one or
two nuclear weapons it could be confident would work even without a test
nuclear blast, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has told Congress.
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- "We assess that North Korea has produced one or
two simple fission-type nuclear weapons and has validated the designs without
conducting yield-producing nuclear tests," the CIA said.
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- The CIA's August 18 statement was made public recently
by the Federation of American Scientists.
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- Some experts have said they expect North Korea to carry
out a test blast just as India and Pakistan did in 1998 to show the world
they were members of the nuclear club, but the CIA's statement suggests
this is not necessary.
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- "Testing would confirm (the existence of a nuclear
capability) but it's not changing what they already believe," said
Daniel Pinkston, a North Korea expert at the Centre for Nonproliferation
Studies in Monterey, California.
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- North Korea is widely reported to have been carrying
out nuclear weapon-related tests since the 1980s to develop what it now
says is a nuclear deterrent that is ready to use.
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- "Pyongyang at this point appears to view ambiguity
regarding its nuclear capabilities as providing a tactical advantage,"
the spy agency said.
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- The CIA says a test nuclear explosion could spark an
international backlash that would isolate the reclusive Communist state
further.
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- The latest crisis in US-North Korean relations began
in October 2002, when US officials said the North had been pursuing a clandestine
nuclear-weapons program that violated its international commitments.
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- The State Department said on Friday it was optimistic
about chances for a fresh round of six-way talks on North Korea's suspected
nuclear arms program after Secretary of State Colin Powell met a key Chinese
diplomat.
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- The Chinese official, Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi,
says China is working to set up a new round of discussions among officials
from the United States, the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and China.
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- © 2003 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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- http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s985075.htm
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