North Korea reportedly admits to having nuke

A South Korean soldier watches during a military exercise Thursday near the Demilitarized Zone, in Chulwon, north of Seoul.

North Korea has admitted to having at least one nuclear bomb, according to White House officials. The acknowledgement violates an agreement that Pyongyang (North Korea) made in 1994. In the agreement, North Korea said that it would not build nuclear weapons if other countries provided aid to the impoverished Asian nation.

Officials from North Korea, China, and the U.S. met this week in Beijing, China to discuss the nuclear standoff. During their talks, North Korean representative Li Gun reportedly told U.S. representative James Kelly that Pyongyang had at least one nuclear weapon. Gun then asked, "Now what are you going to do about it?" according to a U.S. official.

Gun also allegedly said that his country would "prove" it has the weapon "soon," which implies that North Korea may test a nuclear bomb sometime in the future. However, such a test was not directly threatened by Gun, according to one official.

Gun said that the actions of the U.S. would determine whether Pyongyang physically demonstrates that it has a nuclear weapon. Some officials from the Bush administration see the comment as a possible threat that North Korea would test its bomb. Others say that the statement could be a bluff.

RESOURCES • CNN.com: North Korea admits having nuclear weapons  • CNN.com: Timeline: Tensions on the Korean Peninsula  • CNN.com: Timeline: North Korea  • CNN.com: Special: Nuclear Crisis  • Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Understanding North Korea

North Korea has used brinksmanship (threatening language) in the past to try to get other countries to give in to its demands. Pyongyang has "said a lot of things that require careful analysis before anybody jumps out and makes grand pronouncements," said Richard Boucher, spokesman for the U.S. State Department.

Gun reportedly stated that Pyongyang would consider giving up its nuclear weapons program if the U.S. gave a written promise that it would not attack the Asian nation. However, U.S. officials have repeatedly stated that Washington has no plans to take military action against North Korea, and Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the U.S. would not give in to blackmail.

North Korea should not think "that the United States and its partners and the nations in the region will be intimidated by bellicose statements or by threats," Powell said.