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U.S. intelligence chief sees N. Korea as 'highest' concern+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)WASHINGTON, Feb. 2_(Kyodo) _ National Intelligence Director John Negroponte identified North Korea and Iran on Thursday as states of "highest concern" for their nuclear ambitions and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Negroponte said the United States knows no conditions under which Pyongyang would fully relinquish its nuclear weapons and programs, and sees no sign of organized opposition to the current regime among North Korea's political or military elite. "North Korea claims to have nuclear weapons -- a claim that we assess is probably true -- and has threatened to proliferate these weapons abroad," Negroponte said in testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. "Pyongyang sees nuclear weapons as the best way to deter superior United States and South Korean forces, to ensure regime security, as a lever for economic gain, and as a source of prestige," he said. "Accordingly, the North remains a major challenge to the global nuclear nonproliferation regimes." Negroponte said Pyongyang sells conventional weapons to Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and has sold ballistic missiles to several Middle Eastern countries, further destabilizing regions already embroiled in conflict. Furthermore, he said North Korea "produces and smuggles abroad counterfeit U.S. currency as well as narcotics and other contraband." His remarks come at a time the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions remain stalled. Pyongyang has said it will not return to the negotiating table unless Washington removes economic sanctions it has imposed related to the North's illicit activities. The sanctions were imposed on a Macau-based bank alleged to have laundered money for North Korea. The United States maintains the sanctions and nuclear negotiations are separate issues. The six parties -- China, Japan, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States -- last met for a fifth round of talks in November. A broad statement of principles was agreed to during the fourth round in September, with North Korea agreeing to abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for security and energy guarantees. But little progress has been made on how or when to implement the agreement. Negroponte said the al-Qaida terrorist network continues to be a "top concern," saying it "remains interested acquiring chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials or weapons to attack the United States, U.S. troops and U.S. interests worldwide." He noted an attack using conventional explosives continues to be the "most probable scenario." On China, Negroponte said the country may become a "peer competitor to the United States at some time," given its rapidly rising power with steadily expanding global reach. But he said, "China's rise may be hobbled by systemic problems and the Communist Party's resistance to the demands for political participation that economic growth generates." "Beijing's determination to repress real or perceived challenges -- from dispossessed peasants to religious organizations -- could lead to serious instability at home and less effective policies abroad," he said. |