19 September 2008 : KBS
A British think tank projects that North Korea can restore its partially disabled nuclear facilities in just one year.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies said Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's rumored health problems will likely prolong the nuclear deadlock between the United States and the communist country.
John Chipman, director of the institute, said that diplomatic efforts to stop nuclear proliferation by North Korea and Iran have reached a dead end.
He added that while the North could possibly seek to improve its relations with the U.S. as a counterbalance to its relationship with China, Washington would have plenty of difficulties in accepting the move.
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