N. Korea backs away from nuclear claim

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il

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VIDEO Reports from North Korea that the reclusive nation has developed nuclear weapons are being met with confusion and skepticism. CNN's Sohn Jie-ae reports. PLAY VIDEO CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver reports on the concern over food shortages in North Korea and the impact of politics on donations. PLAY VIDEO RELATED Special Report: The two Koreas  Inside out: How North Korea sees the world  • Interactive: Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What  QUICKVOTE Do you believe North Korea really does have a working nuclear weapon? Yes No VIEW RESULTS 1994 agreement North Korea promised to give up its nuclear weapons program and allow inspections to verify that it did not have the material such weapons would require. The country has yet to allow the inspections. N. Korea nuclear facts North Korea launched a medium-range "test" missile over Japan in 1998. The 1994 Agreed Framework was signed by North Korea with the Clinton administration. In return, an international consortium is building new nuclear reactors in North Korea.

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korean officials have downplayed a report stating the country possessed nuclear weapons, saying instead they were only "entitled" to have such a weapon.

In a radio broadcast Tuesday, the officals sought to clarify an earlier radio report that sparked confusion over whether the country does indeed possess nuclear weapons.

In the latest report, broadcast on North Korean state radio and monitored by South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the announcer said North Korean officials had said over the weekend the country was "entitled" to have nuclear weapons.

The linguistic mix-up that could spell the difference between a point of rhetoric and a major shift in the security balance of East Asia, created a major international stir.

A South Korean Unification Ministry official told CNN he could not be sure whether the radio announcer had said North Korea "has come to have nuclear weapons" or that it is "entitled to have nuclear weapons" because the difference in interpretation is a matter of a single syllable and the broadcast was not clear.

It was also unclear whether the report referred to a plutonium- or uranium-based weapon.

North Korean officials had said in a newspaper interview published Monday that their country has a right to have nuclear weapons and other weapons "more powerful than that" to defend itself.

The responses did not address whether North Korea -- known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- actually has a nuclear weapon, but spoke of an "ever-growing" nuclear threat from the United States and said it would be "naive" to think "the DPRK would sit idle under such a situation."

U.S. administration officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, have said they believe Pyongyang has enough plutonium to make one or two nuclear weapons, but they do not know whether North Korea has enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon.

Last month, Pyongyang admitted it has a clandestine weapons program, in violation of a 1994 international agreement, but it has not admitted that it has a nuclear weapon.

The agreement had called for North Korea to freeze an earlier nuclear program in exchange for a United States' promise to provide fuel oil and build two safer nuclear reactors.

In the wake of North Korea's revelation, the international consortium charged with implementing the 1994 agreement last week ordered the suspension of fuel oil deliveries to the Communist nation.

Lingual twists

South Korean officials said the translation uncertainty stemmed from a single spoken word used in Sunday's broadcast on state-run North Korean radio.

Pyongyang Radio was first quoted by the South's Yonhap news agency as saying the country "has come to have nuclear and other strong military weapons to deal with increased nuclear threats by the U.S. imperialists."

Though the ethnically homogeneous South and North Koreans share the same language, there are various differences in pronunciation across the Korean peninsula.

The phrase used in the announcement is unclear. "Kajigaedu-oh-itda", which means 'entitled to have' sounds very similar to "kajigaedutta", which means to 'already possess.'

South Korean officials said they were also wary because it is not the way North Korea usually makes such important statements.

Analysts say Pyongyang could have intentionally broadcast this message -- whether it is true or not -- in an attempt to gauge the extent of international reaction to such news.

The North has also threatened Tokyo that it could resume tests of its long-range missiles, if Japan develops a missile defense shield with the United States.

"They are banking on the fact that the U.S., South Korea and Japan will ultimately come around and offer them new incentives to resolve the weapons of mass destruction issue," said Lee Chung-min, Associate Professor of International Relations at Yonsei University.

The comments, printed in Cambodia Daily, came from interview questions submitted last month to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

North Korea's ambassador to Cambodia, Kim Hong Nam, answered the questions himself and provided them to the newspaper's publisher last week.

-- CNN Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae contributed to this report

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