AP, LA Times reports on N. Korea nuke test ignored increase in country's nuclear arsenal during Bush presidency

Written by Ben Armbruster

Published

In reporting that North Korea has recently declared that it intends to conduct its first nuclear weapons test, the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times failed to note that North Korea's nuclear arsenal has grown significantly during the Bush administration.

In reporting that North Korea has recently declared that it intends to conduct its first nuclear weapons test, the Associated Press, in three articles on October 4 and 5 (here, here, and here), and the Los Angeles Times, in an October 4 article, failed to note that North Korea's nuclear arsenal has grown significantly during President Bush's administration. By contrast, The Washington Post, on October 4 and 5, noted that, according to intelligence estimates, North Korea's nuclear arsenal has grown from one or two weapons when Bush first took office to as many as 11, currently. Similarly, an October 4 New York Times article reported that North Korea has “expanded its fuel stockpile in recent years,” and that North Korean officials claim that their "[nuclear] inventory ... increased" when the Bush administration “focused on the invasion of Iraq.”

In its first report on North Korea's declaration that it intends to conduct a nuclear test, the Post noted on October 4 that North Korea's nuclear arsenal may have increased by as many as nine weapons from January 2001:

North Korea's nuclear capabilities have grown significantly during Bush's tenure. When Bush came into office six years ago, intelligence agencies estimated that North Korea had the capability to make one or two nuclear weapons. Those sources now put the number as high as 11.

The Post's October 5 article on a “secret message” the paper said the Bush administration gave to the North Korean government warning it not to conduct a nuclear test reiterated its point from the day before adding that the administration has refused to talk directly to North Korea:

North Korea's nuclear capabilities have grown significantly during Bush's presidency. When he came into office six years ago, intelligence agencies estimated that North Korea had the capability to make one or two nuclear weapons. As the potential arsenal has grown to as high as 11, the administration has rebuffed calls to sit down directly with North Korea.

Similarly, on October 4, The New York Times noted that North Korea may have “expanded its fuel stockpile in recent years so that it could make now roughly six to eight weapons, and perhaps more,” adding "[t]hat inventory was increased, North Korea says, after the eviction of international inspectors in early 2003, just as the Bush administration was focused on the invasion of Iraq."

But the AP and Los Angeles Times articles did not mention reports that North Korea has increased its nuclear capabilities under the Bush administration's watch. The Los Angeles Times even reported that North Korea “is estimated to have sufficient plutonium for as many as 13 weapons” and that "[b]y 2008, Pyongyang could have the capability to develop as many as 17 nuclear weapons," but did not note that North Korea's current arsenal is likely a significant increase from when Bush first took office nor make any reference to the Bush administration's inability to end North Korea's nuclear program.