Kyodo News Service March 15, 2002
U.S. sees N. Korea, Iraq as biggest threats to security
The United States thinks North Korea and Iraq are the biggest threats to its national security among the seven countries identified as possible targets of U.S. nuclear weapons, according to a classified Pentagon report posted Thursday on the Internet.
The Nuclear Posture Review report, submitted to Congress on Dec. 31, said the contingencies for which U.S. nuclear strikes must be prepared can be categorized as 'immediate, potential or unexpected.' North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Libya are among the countries that could be involved in all three categories of contingencies, the report said, while placing particular emphasis on North Korea and Iraq.
'All have longstanding hostility toward the United States and its security partners; North Korea and Iraq in particular have been chronic military concerns,' it said.
The report, obtained by John Pike, director of Washington-based think tank GlobalSecurity.org and posted on its Web site, said China is a country that could be involved in an immediate or potential contingency due to its ongoing modernization of its nuclear and conventional forces.
As examples of immediate contingencies, the report cited an Iraqi attack on Israel or its neighbors, a North Korean attack on South Korea, or a military confrontation between China and Taiwan.
It said Russia is no longer considered an adversary but that its large nuclear forces remain a concern.
'In the event that U.S. relations with Russia significantly worsen in the future, the U.S. may need to revise its nuclear force levels and posture,' the report said.
It also called for developing nuclear bombs that could destroy buried and fortified underground targets, saying there are more than 10,000 underground military facilities in more than 70 countries, including those for storing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
Copyright © 2002 Kyodo News Service
