TIMESONLINE: North Korea has become a fully fledged nuclear power, with the capacity to wipe out cities in Japan and South Korea.
The uncomfortable truth has been confirmed by a number of experts, from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the US Defence Secretary. According to intelligence briefings shown to academic experts, North Korea has successfully miniaturised nuclear warheads that could be launched on medium-range missiles.
This puts it ahead of Iran in the race for nuclear attack capability, and significantly alters the balance of power between North Korea’s large but poorly equipped military and the South Korean and US forces ranged against it.
“North Korea has nuclear weapons, which is a matter of fact,” the head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, said this week. “I don't like to accept any country as a nuclear weapon state. We have to face reality.” >>> Richard Lloyd Parry in Tokyo | Thursday, April 23, 2009
