The Korean nuclear standoff has become a high-stakes, no-bluff game, where the threats are potentially greater than those posed by Iraq.

In a lengthy, highly charged statement, North Korean President Kim Jong ll accused the U.S. of "brazen-faced, double-dealing tactics" and said it has "manufactured nuclear weapons for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's ever-more undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the [North]."

The statement, released by the North Korean Foreign Ministry and relayed through the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency, said the regime had developed nuclear weapons as a "deterrent for self-defense under any circumstances." The nuclear arsenal, it said, was established "in order to protect the ideology, system, freedom and democracy chosen by its people."

North Korea admitted in early February 2005 for the first time that it has built nuclear weapons and would bolster its arsenal in response to what it called a U.S. effort to topple its political system. The country also said it was pulling out of the six-party talks between the US, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and of course North Korea aimed at settling the nuclear issue.

Led by Dictator Kim Jong ll, and hailing a million-man army, North Korea is believed by the United States to have at least one nuclear weapon, an extensive chemical weapons stockpile and a biological arsenal.

North Korea's resumption of its nuclear weapons program has set its neighbors and much of the rest of the world on edge. The region fears that if the unpredictable North Korea is offended, forced into a corner or desperate, the situation could spin out of control.

Five nations -- the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea -- are now piling the pressure on North Korea to curb its nuclear ambitions. Though President Bush has used harsh language against the North Korean regime, describing it in his 2002 State of the Union address as part of the "axis of evil" along with Iraq and Iran, administration officials responded cautiously.

President Bush wants to see the standoff resolved but is standing firm amid concerns expressed by top officials that the nation is a "rogue state" holding the world hostage to nuclear blackmail.

Tensions really started escalating when the US accused North Korea of developing a secret, uranium-based nuclear weapons program.

Washington is not only concerned about the development of such weapons in North Korea, but also wants to curb Pyongyang's capacity to export missile and nuclear technology to other states or organizations. Administration officials are also concerned about possible nuclear cooperation between North Korea and Iran.

It is often very difficult to tell what lies behind North Korea's moves. It seems possible that North Korea has been trying to use the nuclear issue as a hard-line ploy to negotiate a non-aggression pact and improved economic aid from the US. The United States, however, says no rewards should be given just for coming to the negotiating table.

The Korean nuclear standoff has become a high-stakes, no-bluff game, where the threats are potentially greater than those posed by Iraq.

In a lengthy, highly charged statement, North Korean President Kim Jong ll accused the U.S. of "brazen-faced, double-dealing tactics" and said it has "manufactured nuclear weapons for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's ever-more undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the [North]."

The statement, released by the North Korean Foreign Ministry and relayed through the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency, said the regime had developed nuclear weapons as a "deterrent for self-defense under any circumstances." The nuclear arsenal, it said, was established "in order to protect the ideology, system, freedom and democracy chosen by its people."

North Korea admitted in early February 2005 for the first time that it has built nuclear weapons and would bolster its arsenal in response to what it called a U.S. effort to topple its political system. The country also said it was pulling out of the six-party talks between the US, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and of course North Korea aimed at settling the nuclear issue.

Led by Dictator Kim Jong ll, and hailing a million-man army, North Korea is believed by the United States to have at least one nuclear weapon, an extensive chemical weapons stockpile and a biological arsenal.

North Korea's resumption of its nuclear weapons program has set its neighbors and much of the rest of the world on edge. The region fears that if the unpredictable North Korea is offended, forced into a corner or desperate, the situation could spin out of control.

Five nations -- the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea -- are now piling the pressure on North Korea to curb its nuclear ambitions. Though President Bush has used harsh language against the North Korean regime, describing it in his 2002 State of the Union address as part of the "axis of evil" along with Iraq and Iran, administration officials responded cautiously.

President Bush wants to see the standoff resolved but is standing firm amid concerns expressed by top officials that the nation is a "rogue state" holding the world hostage to nuclear blackmail.

Tensions really started escalating when the US accused North Korea of developing a secret, uranium-based nuclear weapons program.

Washington is not only concerned about the development of such weapons in North Korea, but also wants to curb Pyongyang's capacity to export missile and nuclear technology to other states or organizations. Administration officials are also concerned about possible nuclear cooperation between North Korea and Iran.

It is often very difficult to tell what lies behind North Korea's moves. It seems possible that North Korea has been trying to use the nuclear issue as a hard-line ploy to negotiate a non-aggression pact and improved economic aid from the US. The United States, however, says no rewards should be given just for coming to the negotiating table.

Alternatively, the paranoid North may have decided the US intends to attack it anyway, and has been readying its defenses while the US was preoccupied with places like Iraq.