© REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSouth Korean soldiers stand guard at an observation post near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas in Paju, north of Seoul April 11, 2013.
The Defense Intelligence Agency study, dated last month, appeared to be the first time the agency had reached such a conclusion.
"DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low," said Republican U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn, who disclosed the conclusion during a congressional hearing on Thursday.
Lamborn said the agency reached the conclusion in a mostly classified March 2013 report. He did not say what range the nuclear-capable North Korean missiles might have.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to comment when asked if he agreed with that assessment, saying he had not seen the report.
The strong consensus inside the U.S. government is that North Korea does not yet have a nuclear device that would fit longer-range missiles which conceivably could reach U.S. territories.
Despite recent threats to attack U.S. bases and the South, North Korea started to welcome a stream of visitors for Monday's celebrations marking the birthday of its founder Kim Il-sung.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States would work diplomatically to reduce tensions with North Korea, while warning that Washington would take "all necessary steps" to protect America and its allies.
Obama met at the White House on Thursday with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who called for China and other nations with influence over North Korea to help calm the situation.
North Korea has stationed as many as five medium-range missiles on its east coast, according to defense assessments by Washington and Seoul, possibly in readiness for a test-launch that would demonstrate its ability to hit U.S. bases on Guam.
"There are signs the North could fire off Musudan missiles any time soon," an unnamed intelligence source in Seoul told Yonhap news agency.
Most observers say Pyongyang has no intention of starting a war that would likely bring its own destruction, but they warn of the risks of miscalculation on the highly militarized Korean peninsula.
Reader Comments
I can just see these clowns now drinking a cocktail and smoking a cigar laughing. His missles are inacurate!
Is that a former test of a nuclear weapon which North Korea launched by missle exploded at high altitude, and was judged by the military (or reported as such by our oh so reliable media) to have been a failure. This may or may not be true, it seems possible that this could be a test of the use of a nuclear weapon to create an Electro-Magnetic Pulse, similar in some ways to a solar CME, which could be used to wreak havoc on the electrical grid...
Of course, like another article in this series on North Korea points out, we only "know" whatever information makes it in our direction, there is no way of verifying any of this.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States would work diplomatically to reduce tensions with North Korea, while warning that Washington would take "all necessary steps" to protect America and its allies.
On the surface, it says that 'you can trust us while we diligently search for a peaceful solution, just don't try anything'
Underneath, it's all Obamaspeak.
Nobody has any idea of who is planning to strike when, or even if.
All necessary steps... whatever is that supposed to mean?