Washington: North Korea, with its long-range missiles, has the capability to target North America, a top US intelligence official has warned and said Pyongyang's "open" pursuit of nuclear weapons was one of the "most serious" challenges to Washington.

The Taepo Dong 2 (TD-2) missile could target part of the US with a nuclear weapon- sized payload in the two-stage configuration and has the range to target all of North America if a third stage was used, director of the Defence Intelligence Agency Vice Admiral Lowell E Jacoby told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Pyongyang's chronic proliferation activities are troubling and are an indication that it would be willing to market nuclear weapons in the future, he alleged.

North Korea's open pursuit of "additional" nuclear weapons, apart from the "perhaps two" it may already possess, "is the most serious challenge to US regional interests in a generation", Jacoby said.

The outcome of this current crisis, he said, will shape relations in North East Asia for years to come.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director George J Tenet endorsed Jacoby's views and said North Korea has an untested ballistic missile capable of reaching targets in North America.

An unclassified US intelligence estimate, released by CIA officials in December 2001, said the three-stage Taepo Dong 2 missile was late in development and close to flight testing.

While North Korea's hardline approach was designed to draw concessions from the US, "its desire for nuclear weapons reflects a long-term strategic goal that will not be easily abandoned", Jacoby said.

PTI