IS NORTH KOREA A NUCLEAR STATE?

THINK TANK UPSETS GOV'T WITH THOUGHTS ON NUCLEAR N.KOREA

The Chosun Ilbo, February 2, 2012

A government-funded think tank has upset the Foreign Ministry with a report that advises treating North Korea as a de facto nuclear state.

The report published recently by the Korea Institute for National Unification says Seoul "cannot recognize the North as a nuclear state officially, but the stark reality is that the North is a nuclear state from a strategic point of view." South Korea "will have no choice but to formulate strategies toward the North and implement North Korea policy based on this reality."

A senior Foreign Ministry official on Wednesday slammed the conclusion. "The moment we recognize the North as a nuclear state, all the rules of the game will change," he said. "Such a proposal shouldn't have been made by a government agency."

(...) [artículo aquí]