From [url]http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/14/korea.nukes/index.html[/url]:

[b]North Korea nuke threat 'tense'[/b]

Saturday, December 14, 2002 Posted: 12:40 AM EST (0540 GMT)

VIENNA, Austria (CNN) -- North Korea is the closest member of U.S. President Bush's "axis of evil" to building a functional nuclear weapon in terms of technical capability, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned.

Following North Korea's announcement earlier this week that it intended to "unfreeze" its nuclear program and a demand that the IAEA remove cameras and seals from nuclear waste facilities where spent fuel rods are kept, Mohamed ElBaradei said "the situation is tense."

"I appealed to them to rethink their positions," ElBaradei told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "We are waiting for their response."

ElBaradei said North Korea already has the capability to build nuclear weapons, and that Iran lagged behind, followed by Iraq. Both nations, along with North Korea make up Bush's so-called "axis of evil".

On Friday, the U.S. accused Iran of "actively working" on a nuclear weapons program and said that recent satellite photographs of a massive nuclear power construction project "reinforce" that belief.

The renewed escalation of tensions between Pyongyang and Washington follows the stopping and boarding of a North Korean vessel carrying Scud missiles to Yemen by Spanish and U.S. forces in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday.

North Korea has accused the United States of "unpardonable piracy" in seizing the ship, which eventually was allowed to continue on to Yemen.

North Korea agreed in 1994 to freeze its nuclear facilities, at least one of which was suspected of having the capability to produce weapons-grade plutonium, in return for regular shipments of heavy fuel oil and the promise of newer and safer nuclear reactors from the Japan, South Korea and the United States.

That deal averted a possible military confrontation between Pyongyang and Washington.

But North Korea said the "Agreed Framework" is no longer valid and that it is unfreezing the facilities because it needs the power generated by the nuclear plants since the fuel oil shipments were halted earlier this month.

The oil program was voided by the United States after North Korea divulged a few weeks ago that it was engaged in a "highly enriched uranium program" -- violating international agreements and the agreed framework.

ElBaradei said North Korea's response to entreaties from the IAEA has not been positive.

"I think it's much better to try to find a diplomatic solution," he said. "I'm encouraged that even Washington today is speaking of an agreed settlement."
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Read the rest at the link above.

-kill-9

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sounds like blackmail to me,lets hope the bush administration doesn't cave in.
iran and n.korea building nuke facilities,how long until they have something that would seriously threaten the region?
iran will comply with whatever inspections that are placed on the table.
with so much air power in the region they won't take a chance on a few errant missions setting them back 5 years.
n.korea i'm not sure what will happen there.
but it is worrysome more so that iraq or iran.
lets see if the bush administration will take em out one at a time one way or another.
josam