[10/February/2005] LUXEMBOURG,(Saba) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged North Korea to return to talks on its nuclear arms drive but warned that the United States and its allies could deter any threat.

Rice\'s comments came after North Korea stated explicitly that it has nuclear weapons and said that it needs them as protection against an increasingly hostile United States.

Speaking after the Stalinist state abandoned six-party negotiations and said it had already built the bomb, Rice said North Korea only faced deeper isolation if it continues on its present path.

The North Korean statement may be a bluff meant to put the United States back on its heels before the regime finally does return to the disarmament table. North Korea told a visiting U.S. congressional delegation last month that it would return to those six-nation talks.

TD