Nuclear programme reaches 'extremely dangerous level'

AP:

The threat posed by North Korea's nuclear programme has reached an "extremely dangerous level", an adviser to South Korea's president said in comments published yesterday.

It was not clear whether the comments by Kim Tae-hyo, President Lee Myung-bak's deputy national security adviser, were based on new intelligence.

They followed a report by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security that satellite images in September showed new construction activity in the area surrounding North Korea's nuclear reactor.

Kim's comments were reported yesterday in the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper. Kim confirmed to The Associated Press that he made the comments on Tuesday at a forum on Northeast Asia, but declined to elaborate.

"The North Korean nuclear threat has, in reality, been accelerating and has now reached an extremely dangerous level," Kim said.