A North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said yesterday Pyongyang would display the "physical force" of its nuclear deterrent at a moment of its own choosing.
The statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency came as US President George W Bush headed for Asia on a six-nation tour amid efforts to coax North Korea back to six-way talks to end the year-long standoff.
"This is another bargaining chip for negotiations to get the upper hand at the next round of six-way talks," South Korea's National Security Advisor Ra Jong-Yil told reporters here.
The unidentified North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said Pyongyang would end doubts about whether it possessed atomic weapons.
"When an appropriate time comes, the DPRK (North Korea) will take a measure to open its nuclear deterrent to the public as a physical force and then there will be no need to have any more argument," he said.
North Korea is known for ratcheting up tension to gain advantage ahead of delicate negotiations.
"If we over-react, we will be playing into their hands," said another official on South Korea's National Security Council who declined to be named.
In Washinton, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was perplexed by Pyongyang's latest outburst but sidestepped a war of words over with the Stalinist regime.
North Korea threatened to test a weapon and declare itself a nuclear power during six-nation talks held in Beijing two months ago, according to US officials.
The two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States met for the six-way talks for the first time in late August to ease tensions caused by North Korea's nuclear weapons drive.
Pyongyang later called the talks "useless" and said it had no interest in further meetings, preferring instead to build up its nuclear deterrent.
In the ensuing weeks Pyongyang has raised the stakes by claiming it is making atomic bombs after reprocessing spent fuel rods, and imposed further obstacles to a new round of talks by demanding that Japan be excluded.
North Korea demands a legally binding non-aggression pact from the US as a first step before responding to Washington's demand for a complete and verifiable dismantling of its nuclear weapons drive.
Powell said last week that Washington was working on a security assurance involving multiple nations that he hoped would satisfy the isolated regime.
But Pyongyang has indicated it is unlikely to be satisfied with anything less than a legally binding accord.
North Korea's latest announcement was seen as a slap in the face for a South Korean cabinet-level delegation in Pyongyang for the last four days.
The South Koreans, led by Unification Minister Jeong Se-Hyun, want Pyongyang to return to the six-way talks and to refrain from escalating the crisis further.
"Hand-shaking is impossible with a clenched fist," Jeong told his North Korean counterparts at a dinner late Thursday, according to media pool reports.
The talks have been stalled since Wednesday over differences over a final statement before the South Koreans head back to Seoul later today.
The two sides have agreed in principle to hold a new round of talks in Seoul next January or February. – Sapa-AFP.
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