North Korea has revised a public statement in which it appeared to acknowledge having nuclear weapons.
A commentary broadcast Sunday over official radio said the nation had come to have what it called powerful counter-measures -- including nuclear weapons -- to cope with mounting threats from the United States.
But then today (Monday), a slightly-altered version of the statement was broadcast saying only that North Korea is entitled to have such weapons.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency says the initial statement Sunday appears to have been a mistake by the radio announcer.
North Korea has frequently said it has a right to have nuclear and other weapons. But until the Sunday broadcast, it had not publicly admitted having them.
U-S intelligence has believed for some time that North Korea has one or two crude nuclear weapons. And the Bush administration says Pyongyang acknowledged last month that it does have a nuclear weapons program.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday he does not know if North Korea has nuclear weapons. But he told a group of high school students at the State Department that if Pyongyang does have such weapons, it would be violating its pledge not to develop them.
In 1994, North Korea agreed to halt its nuclear program in exchange for help from a U-S-led consortium in meeting its energy needs.