U.S. 'deeply concerned' by North Korean nuclear advances

The United States is "deeply concerned" about North Korea's nuclear advances, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday after a U.S. research institute predicted Pyongyang could possess as many as 100 nuclear weapons within five years.

Sung Kim, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy, told a Washington seminar he could not comment on findings presented earlier by experts at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, because he had not seen the report and U.S. government assessments were classified.

"(But) obviously we are deeply concerned about the fact that the North Koreans are continuing to advance their nuclear capabilities; we know that they are continuing to work on their nuclear program," Kim said when asked about the report.

Experts at the U.S.-Korea Institute presented three scenarios for North Korea’s future nuclear stockpile, which they estimated currently amount to 10-16 weapons.

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