Tokyo: The United States has warned Japan that North Korea has positioned 200 medium-range Rodong missiles to target Japan. Earlier, it had told Tokyo that Pyongyang already possessed small nuclear warheads that could be mounted in ballistic missiles, the 'Nihon Keizai Shimbun' said.

The Rodong has an estimated range of 1,300 kms, which makes it capable of hitting anywhere in Japan.

South Korea's 'Yonhap' news agency reported on July 13 that North Korea had told the United States it had completed reprocessing spent fuel rods to extract plutonium for nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on July 13 said it was unclear whether North Korea's claim that it has completed the reprocessing of spent fuel rods to extract plutonium for nuclear weapon was true.

Asked about South Korean press reports that UN-based North Korean envoys told US officials last week in New York that the reprocessing operation was completed on June 30, Rumsfeld told NBC, "They have told us they have nuclear weapons, they have also made assertions with respect to the pace at which they're reprocessing.

"Some people believe what they are saying, others don't believe what they are saying," the Defence Secretary added.

Rumsfeld reiterated that President George W Bush's administration had been working with Japan, South Korea, China and Russia and "demonstrated deep concern about the fact that the North Korean nuclear program is progressing".

ANI