South Korea's military chief says North's nuclear weapons program is region's biggest threat

South Korea's military chief says North's nuclear weapons program is region's biggest threat

2010-10-19 02:17:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (BNO NEWS) -- North Korea's nuclear weapons program "is the biggest threat" to the region, South Korea's top military officer said on Monday.

"North Korea's nuclear program, as well as its weapons of mass destruction, is the biggest threat" to regional stability, Gen. Han Min-koo, chairman of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Recent reports of activities close to the North's main nuclear complex Yongbyon could have sparked Han's comments, but JCS officials did not elaborate.

During the conference, which is part of the five-day Chiefs of Defense conference, Han said South Korea's military would forge closer cooperation with its U.S. and Japanese counterparts to share intelligence on the North's nuclear program.

In April 2009, North Korea quit the six-party talks that focused on the country's denuclearization and conducted its second nuclear test a month later. It's military is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least a half dozen bombs.

Recently, the U.S.-based Institute for Science and International Security showed images of construction activity near a cooling tower at Yongbyon, which the North blew up in 2008 to show its 'commitment' to denuclearization.

Han also cited territorial disputes and pirates in Southeast Asia as security threats to the region during the conference, which gathered senior defense officials from 27 countries, including U.S. Pacific Command Commander Robert Willard and Gen. Ryoichi Oriki, Japan's chief of joint self-defense forces.

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