North Korea - nuclear capable but of limited use?

North Korea's declaration that it has nuclear weapons does not necessarily mean it has a tested a nuclear weapons system that can be deployed, defence analysts said yesterday.

North Korea made its first official declaration yesterday and said it was suspending participation in six-country talks on its nuclear programmes because the United States was hardening its stand.

"It is one thing to talk about having a weapon and it's a different matter to talk about a complete nuclear weapons system," said Baek Seung-joo, who heads military research at South Korea's Institute for Defence Analyses.

North Korea has test-fired short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles, but the programme has been marred by accidents and the accuracy of the weapons.

North Korea's boast that it has nuclear weapons did not translate to possession of a genuine and certified weapons system, which required tests, Baek said.

Gary Samore, director at Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies, said those looking at the issue were confident North Korea had enough plutonium to build a few weapons. "Most people in the field assume that North Korea can deliver a simple, implosion weapon by missile with a range that could hit Tokyo," Samore said, but added that no one was certain if it had actually produced nuclear weapons. "They want us to believe that they are capable of it."

South Korean officials have said North Korea possessed nuclear weapons but assessments have varied on whether they could be deployed.

The North's nuclear weapons are likely to be fuelled by plutonium, which it has produced at a five-megawatt reactor.

More than 8000 spent plutonium fuel rods, which can be processed for use as weapons material, have been moved from a storage site since the North expelled international inspectors in December 2002.

An August 2003 paper from the US Congressional Research Service said Pyongyang could turn the nuclear material from those rods into four to six nuclear weapons in six months.

The US said it had evidence the North had a uranium-enrichment programme, but Pyongyang has denied it. Defence analysts said several blast tests were required to determine the reliability of a nuclear weapons system, and there was no evidence that the North has held such tests. South Korea's Defence Ministry said last week that the North was suspected of having conducted a blast test but there was no conclusive evidence.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile in 1998 over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean. The Taepodong 1 is believed to have a range of up to 2500km. It has also tested and deployed the Rodong 1 missile, which has a range of about 1000km, and is thought to be developing missiles capable of reaching the western US. A senior South Korean security official said: "North Korea is using its typical harsh rhetoric, but it still makes it clear that this is not the end of the talks."

- REUTERS