Washington (AsiaNews) – North Korea's chemical weapons stockpile and weapons of mass destruction programme “pose the greatest threat to the United States along with that of Iran,” director of National Intelligence John Negroponte stated. “Iran and North Korea are the states of most concern to us because their regimes disregard international opprobrium, flout UN Security Council restrictions on their nuclear programs, pervert the legitimate purposes of governance, and ignore the needs and rights of their citizens,” he added.

According to Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the problem had already been highlighted last year. “In the intervening twelve months, Pyongyang substantiated our concerns. By pressing forward with its nuclear weapon and missile programs, North Korea threatens to destabilize a region that has known several great power conflicts over the last hundred years and now comprises some of the world's largest economies”.

Maples further testified that "the DIA believes North Korea has had a longstanding chemical weapons stockpile,” adding that there was “no immediate prospect of regime collapse” and that the country's ideological indoctrination fostering extreme nationalism contributes to the strength of the regime.

Pyongyang has a 5-megawatt "research" reactor. In July it test-launched a long-range ballistic missile, known as Taepodong-2, that technically can reach the US West Coast.

Maples noted that while Taepodong-2 failed shortly after the launch, Pyongyang demonstrated its ability to target US forces as well as South Korea and Japan.