CIA Concludes N. Korea Has A-Bomb, Paper Says

A classified CIA document concludes that North Korea probably has developed one or two nuclear bombs, the New York Times reported in today’s editions.

The assessment represents the collective judgment of U.S. intelligence agencies, the Times said.

Many U.S. officials fear nuclear bombs in North Korea would touch off an Asian arms race.

Some officials say the Clinton Administration is playing down the study because the document questions the effectiveness of diplomatic efforts to deal with the problem.

But senior Administration officials say claims the North has a nuclear bomb are not based on conclusive proof, but on estimates of the plutonium Pyongyang could have produced. CIA Director R. James Woolsey told Congress in February the U.S. intelligence community believed the North had enough material to make a nuclear weapon.