North Korea Threatens to 'Shatter' South

Pyongyang claims to have plutonium for 4 nuclear bombs

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 17, 2009 5:21 PM CST

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North Korea Threatens to 'Shatter' South — In this file photo, thousands of North Koreans turn colored cards to form the symbol for the atom as gymnasts perform on the field below during a "mass games" performance at a stadium in Pyongyang. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, FILE)

North Korea threatened to “shatter” South Korea today as reports surfaced that Pyongyang may have enough plutonium stocks to produce at least four nuclear bombs, the Guardian reports. The North said rising hostilities with Seoul compelled it to take “an all-out confrontational posture” over a disputed maritime border that triggered clashes in 1999 and 2000.

Meanwhile, an American scholar said North Korean officials told him they have 68 lbs. of plutonium. North Korea expert Selig Harrison said he could not confirm the claims, but added that Pyongyang claims to seek friendly relations with Washington. Today, however, the North insisted that "there'll be no change in our status as a nuclear state as long as US nuclear threat remains.”
(More North Korea stories.)

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