He added, "It is true we have capabilities to produce various kinds of missiles. I don't want to hide this fact."

North Korea launched a long-range Taepodong missile over Japan's main island and into the Pacific Ocean in 1998.

Choe also repeated claims made earlier this year that his country had weaponized the fuel it extracted from 8,000 reprocessed waste fuel rods, saying North Korea had "transformed them into arms."

"We declared that we weaponized them," he said.

He denied that his nation is waiting for the result of the U.S. election before resuming the six-party talks that were suspended by North Korea after the latest round in June, but listed a number of steps that would have to be taken before talks resume.

"The presidential election in the U.S. and the six-party talks are completely different issues," he said.

"We are not interested in who is winning at this presidential election in the U.S. Whoever wins at this election, would this someone seek to withdraw the hostile policy of the USA and seek the peaceful coexistence?"

Relations between Washington and Pyongyang worsened in late 2002 when the United States accused North Korea of running a secret nuclear weapons program.

Choe blamed the United States for the failure of the talks -- which involved the United States, North and South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. Three rounds have been held so far -- most recently in June in Beijing.

For the talks to restart, Choe said, the United States would have to provide security assurances as well as a "reward for the freeze" of the nuclear program.

He would not specify how much money the United States would have to pay, but said North Korea had already invested "billions of dollars" in the construction of a nuclear energy plant with a capacity of 2 million kilowatts. Construction had been stopped under previous agreements.

Choe said the freeze would be followed by "objective verification" but did not specify which country could conduct such a verification.

He also alleged that South Korea's recently revealed nuclear experiments were conducted with U.S. approval as well as U.S. technology and that the South Korean program would also have to be clarified for six-party talks to continue.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency -- the International Atomic Energy Agency -- is not expected to deliver a report on South Korea until early November, after the U.S. election.

Last April, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck said it was estimated North Korea could make eight nuclear bombs if all 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods were reprocessed.

Before the reprocessing, South Korea said it believed the North had enough nuclear material to build one or two nuclear bombs.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/09/27/nkorea.nuclear/index.html