Seoul: North Korea is working to develop a nuclear warhead which can fit onto a missile, South Korea's top military officer said today, according to Yonhap news agency.

"I understand that North Korea is working to develop a small nuclear warhead which can be loaded into a missile," Kim Tae-Young, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was quoted as telling legislators.

Kim said he could not say whether or not the communist state has already succeeded in developing such a warhead.

North Korea, which has been pursuing a nuclear weapons programme for decades, is long thought to have been trying to produce an atomic warhead for its long-range missiles.

But public confirmation by a top Seoul official is unusual.

The joint chiefs chairman was also quoted as saying the North could make six or seven warheads, given an estimated plutonium stockpile of 40 kilos.
Source : PTI