N.Korea threatening to get out of all treaties, on the verge of testing nukes

N.Korea threatening to get out of all treaties, on the verge of testing nukes. (IW).North Korea has reportedly threatened to scrap the September 19th, 2005 Joint Statement. U.S. magazine, Foreign Policy, says North Korean officials told U.S. officials during a private meeting in Singapore last month that Pyongyang is no longer interested in an agreement reached earlier on February 29th. Under the agreement, the communist state agreed to a moratorium on nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and its uranium enrichment program. North Korean officials also said that the country is reconsidering a previous agreement on denuclearization. North Korea was apparently referring to the September 19th, 2005 Joint Statement in which it agreed to scrap all nuclear weapons and return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty during the fourth round of six-way nuclear talks. North Korea could end the next five years in possession of anywhere from 14 to almost 50 nuclear weapons, according to a new report from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). The report, ‘North Korea’s Estimated Stocks of Plutonium and Weapon-Grade Uranium’ by David Albright and Christine Walrond, projects the development of North Korea’s nuclear programs over the next five years. Attempting to analyze the various ways North Korea might employ its declared uranium enrichment facility (and other potential facilities) and under-construction light water reactor at Yongbyon, the report concludes that, in the worst-case scenario, the North could be in possession of up to 48 nuclear weapons by 2016. North Korea may be preparing to conduct a nuclear or missile test in the near future, a government report submitted during a meeting with ruling party lawmakers showed Friday. "The defense ministry claimed that the communist country was prepared to carry out tests with little preparation time," said a senior Saenuri official, who declined to be identified.Hmmmm......What's Iran's role in all this?Read the full story here.