North Korea's nuclear arsenal 'life-or-death' issue for US

A ranking US congressman stressed the urgency of reining in North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile development, saying Friday it is a "life-or-death" matter for both Koreans and Americans, Yonhap reported on Friday.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on strategic forces, cited North Korea's self-proclaimed successes in advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities.

North Korea has recently stepped again into the international spotlight with assertions that it has successfully test-launched a ballistic missile from a submarine underwater and made significant progress in miniaturizing nuclear warheads to fit atop missiles.

On the miniaturization technology, Rogers did not rule out the possibility that the secretive communist nation has mastered it.

"I assume they can. It's not outside the realm of possibility or probability that they have that capability," he said. "They may have done it already."

The congressman declined to specify the source of his judgment, citing only "the universe of information that we work with."

He emphasized the importance of being fully prepared to meet the challenge.

"When they start talking about these things, and we get some intelligence that they're actually active in that world, we have to assume that they're either there or pretty close to getting that technical capability," Rogers said.

He dismissed a view that the US may feel "North Korea fatigue."

"They may be years away from it for all we know, but they may have it ready for next week, so we have to always maintain our technical edge, and we don't have the luxury of getting bored or tired of it because this is life or death not just for the Korean people but men and women we have stationed here," he said.

About 28,000 American troops are stationed in South Korea to deter North Korean aggressions after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty.

For the US, he said, North Korea is a major source of security concern and its provocations reinforce Washington's determination to counter whatever challenges are.

"If anything, it heightens our awareness that we can't take our eyes off the ball here even though, as you know, we have concerns in the Middle East and in Eastern Europe that are very demanding as well.

Regarding Pyongyang's submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), the congressman said what matters more is the North's hostile intentions rather than the specific timing of perfecting a related capability.

An analysis of photos and other materials has been underway to determine whether the North's SLBM test was actually successful. Some experts said that photos, released by the North, of the launch appear to be re-touched.

"We believe that some aspects of what are portrayed in that picture happened," he said. "The question is how much of it is accurate, and that's what the debate is going on right now in the intelligence community and in our world as we try to discern what exactly North Korea is capable of."

If the test turns out to have been successful, he said the US will work together with its allies South Korea and Japan "to make sure we're ready to meet that capability with an equal response."

Rogers said discussions have begun to prepare for such a scenario, but he would not go into detail, saying it is classified information.