Asia, Nuclear Weapon | featured news

North Korea demanded on Tuesday that it be recognized as a nuclear weapons state, rejecting a U.S. condition that it agree to give up its nuclear arms program before talks can begin.

North Korea on Thursday demanded the lifting of United Nations sanctions and an end to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises as preconditions for starting dialogue.

A new Pentagon report says North Korea probably has nuclear weapons that can be launched by ballistic missile, although it says the weapons are not very reliable....

The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific reassured Congress on Tuesday that the U.S. military could intercept any missile launched by North Korea and aimed at America's territory or its East Asian allies.

The American military commander in the region is staying there instead of returning to Washington--taking no chances as North Korea continues to make threats.

... Though it remains a highly unlikely scenario, Japanese officials have long feared that if North Korea ever decides to play its nuclear card it has not only the means but several potential motives for launching an attack on Tokyo or major U.S. military installations on Japan's main island. And while a conventional missile attack is far more likely, Tokyo is taking North Korea's nuclear rhetoric seriously.

American officials said new “counterprovocation” plans called for an immediate but proportional “response in kind,” hitting the source of any attack by North Korea with similar weapons.

China's leaders issued thinly veiled rebukes to North Korea for raising regional tensions, with the president saying no country should throw the world into chaos and the foreign minister warning that Beijing would not allow mischief on its doorstep.

North Korea's vow to restart its mothballed nuclear facilities raises fears about assembly lines churning out fuel for a fearsome arsenal of nuclear missiles. But it may actually be a sign that Pyongyang needs a lot more bomb fuel to back up its nuclear threats.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that it was sending a mobile missile defense system to Guam as a "precautionary move," as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said North Korea posed a "real and clear danger" to the U.S. military base on the western Pacific island, as well as to allies and other U.S. territory.