South Korean troops patrol the border in Hwacheon on 21 December 2006
Mistrust between the two sides has grown in recent months
South Korea has described its northern neighbour as a “serious threat”, in the wake of its nuclear test in October.

A defence white paper said North Korea’s nuclear capability along with its land army and conventional weapons had raised the threat to the South.

The assessment uses the strongest wording since Seoul began a policy of engaging with Pyongyang in 2000.

Talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear programme ended in deadlock in Beijing earlier this month.

In its biennial white paper, South Korea’s ministry of defence said the threat from the North had risen, although the country was not yet a full-fledged nuclear power.

“North Korea’s conventional forces, its nuclear test, weapons of mass destruction and the forward deployment of troops are a serious threat to our security,” the report said.

The North had obtained an estimated 30kg of plutonium - enough for five nuclear bombs - in the past three years, while its total stockpile now stood at 50kg, the paper said.

-Believed to have ‘handful’ of nuclear weapons
-But not thought to have any small enough to put in a missile
-Could try dropping from plane, though world watching closely