CIA: North Korea Blew Nuke Test

A South Korean newspaper has quoted CIA Director Michael Hayden as saying “the United States does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. … It’s because the nuclear test last year was a failure.” Hayden reportedly made the comment while speaking with a South Korean defense official. The administration has said in the past it was uncertain of the test’s success.

Reuters:

North Korea’s nuclear test last October was a failure and gives no credence to Pyongyang’s claim to being a nuclear weapons state, U.S. CIA Director Michael Hayden was quoted as saying by a South Korean newspaper on Wednesday.

North Korea said in October it had successfully conducted an underground nuclear test. U.S. and South Korean officials and experts have said the blast produced a relatively low-yield explosion, and some questioned the North’s nuclear capability.

“The United States does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state,” Hayden was quoted as saying by a South Korean defense official in the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper. “It’s because the nuclear test last year was a failure.”

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