North Korea 'not capable of nuclear attack'

North Korea may have manufactured nuclear bombs but it lacks the technology to deliver them by missile, South Korean intelligence officials said today.

The state intelligence service, however, said the communist state might still be capable of striking targets by placing the bombs on aircraft, as the United States did in Hiroshima during the Second World War.

“Even if North Korea has developed nuclear weapons, it would be one or two old-style devices that can be delivered by plane,” National Intelligence Service officials told parliament in Seoul.

“In order to put a nuclear bomb on a missile, they should make it weigh less than 1,100 pounds, but we don’t think North Korea has acquired such technology,” the officials said.

The intelligence officials also said there was little possibility that North Korea had exported its nuclear technology abroad. That counters recent claims by US officials who said there is strong evidence that North Korea sold processed uranium to Libya.

North Korea announced last week that it has nuclear weapons and was boycotting disarmament talks, escalating its nuclear stand-off with the United States and its allies.

Since the revelation, the United States, South Korea and China – North Korea’s last major ally – have renewed diplomatic efforts to persuade Pyongyang to return to six-nation talks aimed at getting the impoverished state to give up nuclear weapons development in return for economic benefits.

South Korea stepped up its diplomacy today, with the defence ministry saying it has proposed high-level military talks with the North, focusing on ways to avoid accidental clashes now that North Korea has claimed to have atomic arms.

“North Korea has yet to respond to our proposal, but we are expecting the North side to make a sincere and positive response,” the ministry said.