N Korea wants Atom bomb to cut conventional forces

It was the first time Pyongyang had linked its controversial nuclear program to cutting its conventional military and saving money. North Korea has one of the largest armed forces in the world with 1.1 million troops, many of them forward-deployed near the Demilitarised Zone that bisects the Korean peninsula.

In a Korean-language commentary, the North's official KCNA news agency said if the United States did not give up what it described as its hostile policy Pyongyang would have no choice but to have a nuclear deterrent.

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"We are not trying to possess a nuclear deterrent in order to blackmail others but we are trying to reduce conventional weapons and divert our human and monetary resources to economic development and improve the living standards of the people," KCNA said. A commentary on KCNA clearly has high-level approval.

In Tokyo, before the KCNA commentary was published, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun told Japan's parliament his country would not tolerate North Korea possessing nuclear weapons but called for a peaceful resolution to the problem.

Yu Suk-ryul, a professor at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security in Seoul, said the KCNA commentary seemed intended to play up the North's economic difficulties and underscore its desire for bilateral talks with the United States about its nuclear ambitions.

"Because North Korea admitted officially it possesses nuclear weapons, now they can give reasons based on that," he said. Many economists say the North's economy is close to collapse despite -- or even because of -- piecemeal reforms. Many people are malnourished, aid groups say.