China: N. Korea Can Make Nuclear Tipped Missiles

China: N. Korea Can Make Nuclear Tipped Missiles

NewsMax Wires
Monday, July 21, 2003

BEIJING -- A report has said China believes North Korea has enough plutonium now to build a nuclear bomb.

According to Channel News Asia, the report said Chinese intelligence services concluded that North Korea now has all the necessary components to make nuclear-tipped missiles.

The Asian Wall Street Journal said it was this realization that led to the dispatch of Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo to Pyongyang last Saturday.

Dai is now in Washington to brief U.S. policymakers on his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

The United States and South Korea have both expressed concerns that North Korea might have one or two nuclear bombs, but China had remained silent until now.

Tension has grown in recent months over the nuclear threat posed by North Korea. But Channel News Asia reported that prospects for multilateral talks are brighter than before.