U.S. Warns Against Nuclear Arms Race in Asia

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2006 — -- The United States' envoy to talks on North Korea's nuclear program offered the strongest warning yet to North Korea's non-nuclear neighbors not to pursue a nuclear weapons program in the wake of Pyongyang's apparent nuclear test earlier this week.

"We also need to continue to work together, first of all, to make clear to our partners and allies that nobody needs to consider their own nuclear arsenal," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Christopher Hill said today in a speech at the National Press Club.

"The United States remains treaty bound, morally bound to provide for the security of other countries, of our allies. And so no country needs to consider making a decision in the direction of considering a nuclear option," Hill added.

North Korea's unconfirmed nuclear test has upset the balance of power in Northeast Asia. Officials and analysts worry that the test will set off an arms race in the region, with North Korea's non-nuclear neighbors, namely Japan and South Korea, pursuing their own nuclear weapons.

Japan has felt particularly threatened by a nuclear North Korea. In 1998 North Korea launched missiles that flew over Japan. While there is no evidence to suggest that North Korea could tip one of its missiles with a nuclear device, this history has added to tensions between the two countries.

If Japan develops nuclear weapons, it will leave South Korea as the only country in the region without them. Chung-in Moon, once a top advisor to the South Korean government, told ABC News that if Japan starts a nuclear weapons program, South Korea would likely do so as well.

The U.S. government has yet to determine whether North Korea actually conducted a nuclear weapons test. Seismic readings from the blast location are consistent with a large unnatural explosion, and sources told ABC News that additional preliminary tests suggest that the North Korean test was a nuclear test, but the sources cautioned that the results are not definitive.