The CIA concludes in a declassified report that North Korea has the technical potential to produce within 15 years a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the United States.
But it says this is unlikely to become a reality and that the potential nuclear threat to America from Iran and Libya is even less.No country other than China and Russia currently controls land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach U.S. territory, but some argue that Third World nations soon may pose an ICBM threat. Those most often mentioned are North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Libya.
The CIA assessment was mixed but tended to discount any new threats.
"No evidence exists that any of the countries examined in this study are developing missiles - especially ICBMs - for the purpose of attacking" the United States, it said.
Meanwhile, U.S. and North Korean officials on Wednesday held their second meeting in three days in New York. On Monday, Korean negotiators presented a proposal on inspecting suspected nuclear weapons programs and U.S. negotiators responded Wednesday, according to U.S. officials.
The negotiations are continuing, the officials said, an indication the stalemate may yield to a compromise. North Korea wants joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises halted and is seeking U.S. diplomatic recognition, while the United States wants full access to the sites for the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The CIA gave a summary of the report's findings to Rep. Ronald Dellums, D-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, last month at his request. Dellums made a copy of the five-page summary available to The Associated Press.
The original, classified report was written in June, CIA spokesman Dave Christian said.
The declassified findings largely match CIA Director R. James Woolsey's public comments on the subject in recent months. The report, however, gives a more detailed assessment of the technical capabilities and limitations, as well as the perceived intentions, of North Korea and other nations unfriendly to the United States.
Woolsey told Congress in July that the CIA does not expect any nations other than Russia and China to produce ICBMs capable of reaching U.S. soil within this decade. But he added that "after the turn of the century" some nations that are hostile to America could do so.