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North Korea not yet a nuclear weapons state
North Korea's declaration that it possesses nuclear weapons does not make it a nuclear weapons state, South Korea's unification minister said on Monday.
"We see it as a claim to own nuclear weapons, not an official statement of being a nuclear weapons state," Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told parliament. Chung also heads South Korea's National Security Council, which advises President Roh Moo-hyun.
"There is no doubt that North Korea has 10 to 14 kg (22 lb to 31 lb) of plutonium, but there is no evidence that the North has turned it into plutonium bombs," Chung said.
Pyongyang is probably seeking to boost its negotiating position in the stalled six-country talks on its nuclear programs by making the declaration, Chung said.
South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia met for three rounds of the talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear programs in return for aid and security guarantees. A planned fourth round never materialized. |
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