Pyongyang (AsiaNews/Agencies) - North Korean vice Foreign Affairs Minister, Kim Gye Gwan, said today that "North Korea is constructing new nuclear weapons" and that it is "capable to equipping its missiles with nuclear warheads". During an interview, he said: "I must say we have enough nuclear bombs to defend against US attack."

For the government of Japan, the statement is a "challenge to world peace", which snuffs out hopes arisen in recent weeks. Pessimism has been mixed with cautious optimism since an informal meeting on 13 May between American and North Korean diplomats in New York, and a series of contacts about the possible resumption of six-party talks. This morning, the Japanese government spokesman, Hiroyuki Hosoda, said his country and the US "share the same conviction" about the nuclear problem. "We are convinced that China, Russia as well as South Korea will be of the same opinion," he said, adding: "The whole world collaborates on the issue of non-proliferation and Japan has not changed its conviction about the necessity of regulating the matter through the six-party negotiations."

The "six-party nuclear talks" consist of negotiations for nuclear disarmament between the USA, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and Russia: Pyongang left the negotiating table after the third round of talks (June 2004). On 10 February 2005, the North Korean regime officially confirmed the existence of its atomic arsenal and said its capacity will be strengthened. After about a month, the nuclear reactor in Yongbyon – 90km north of the capital – was reactivated. International experts say the reactor is capable of producing necessary plutonium for around six atomic bombs.