Divide over North Korea threat

A TOP South Korean official yesterday said he does not believe North Korea possesses nuclear weapons, contradicting US assertions that the communist nation has one or two atomic bombs.

The comment by Prime Minister Kim Suk-soo appeared to reflect differences in how South Korea and its main ally, the United States, view North Korea. Many South Koreans do not think their neighbour’s nuclear development is a serious threat, while US President George W Bush has defined the North as part of an “axis of evil” intent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

In Tokyo, the top US diplomat warned of a possible North Korean missile test over Japan in what could be an effort to ratchet up tension over the North’s nuclear programs. North Korea alarmed the region by firing a rocket over Japan and into the Pacific in 1998.