Defector- North Korean leader claimed nuclear capability in '96

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told aides in 1996 that his country had nuclear weapons, a prominent North Korean defector said Friday.

Hwang Jang Yop, who defected to Seoul in 1997, made the remarks as the United States tries to muster international pressure on North Korea to drop its suspected nuclear program. Washington believes North Korea already has one or two bombs.

"I heard from Kim Jong Il and other people in charge ... that 'we made nuclear weapons,"' the Yonhap news agency quoted Hwang as saying. "But I have not seen a nuclear weapon myself."

Hwang, a former top aide to Kim, said North Korean leaders made the claim in 1996, according to the television channel YTN. Hwang spoke at a parliamentary forum on North Korean defectors and human rights.

American officials said North Korean negotiators told them in April that North Korea had nuclear weapons and was prepared to use them, depending on U.S. actions. North Korea wants security guarantees and economic aid from the United States.

"People in many countries, without knowing the true identity of the North Korean dictatorial leadership, are pitying it as a small country, an impoverished country," said 81-year-old Hwang. He compared North Korea's leadership to that of Iraq's ousted leader, Saddam Hussein.

North Korea accuses the United States of inciting the nuclear standoff as an excuse to invade, and some younger South Koreans view Washington as arrogant and militaristic.

Hwang, ex-chief of North Korea's legislature, called for cooperation between the Koreas.

U.S. lawmakers have long invited Hwang to speak before a congressional hearing, but he has not been able to do so. Hwang has accused the South Korean government of restricting his movements to muzzle him, but the government says it is looking out for his safety.

Earlier Friday, 21 North Koreans defected to South Korea after fleeing their hunger-stricken homeland. More than 500 North Koreans have defected to South Korea this year. Last year, 1,141 North Koreans defected to South Korea, up from 583 in 2001 and 312 in 2000.