NEW YORK, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The United Nations' chief nuclear watchdog is concerned North Korea has constructed as many as six nuclear warheads, the New York Times said Tuesday.
In an interview, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei said he suspects nuclear material his agency once monitored in the country has been converted for use in four to six nuclear bombs.
The communist government expelled IAEA inspectors nearly two years ago and soon afterwards removed 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods from a holding pond where they were being stored.
However, a senior U.S. administration official told the newspaper there has been no change in U.S. assessments of the threat. The Central Intelligence Agency has estimated Pyongyang may have enough material for only two to three nuclear weapons.
Harvard University Professor Joseph Nye said if North Korea indeed possesses more weapons-grade plutonium than originally thought, the risk the country could transfer the material to terrorists becomes greater.
"When you only have one or two, you are not likely to trade one away or sell it to a terrorist. As the number starts to rise, that becomes more of a danger," he said.
