If not, is the program aimed at gathering greater bargaining strength with the United States?

The question has dominated South Korean security officials and scholars since North Korea's nuclear weapons program became public in 1993.

Few analysts in Seoul believe North Korea will use nuclear weapons because it knows such a move would be catastrophic. At the least, U.N.-backed sanctions would lead the North's already faltering economy to collapse, resulting in political turmoil.

Pyongyang says its pursuit of nuclear weapons is defensive to cope with U.S. "reckless moves for military aggression," but analysts dismiss the claim because if North Korea had no weapons, the United States would have no reason to attack it.

This is why many analysts in South Korea say the North's nuclear threats are aimed at gaining leverage.

With the nuclear card in hand, Kim Jong Il's regime seeks massive economic assistance from the outside world and diplomatic ties with Washington, which can ensure its political and economic survival.

For this purpose, North Korea employs a "strategy of ambiguity" in dealing with U.S.-led anti-proliferation efforts. It has asserted its right to have atomic weapons, but has remained vague about whether they already exist, leading to confusion.

Some experts say Pyongyang's claim of a nuclear arsenal is a lie, while others say it could be real.

If North Korea's nuclear brinkmanship for the past 10 years is aimed at buying time to develop nuclear bombs, it may have succeeded. The United States and South Korea believe the North has made one or two bombs. North Korea declared in February it had nuclear weapons.

But Pyongyang's attempt to use the nuclear threat to win economic aid and political concessions has failed to yield results.

The country's economy has become weaker, forcing Kim's regime to ease communist economic rule. The nation is also under more political pressure from the outside.

The United States has floated the possibility of taking North Korea to the U.N. Security Council for action if it continues to refuse to return to multilateral talks, following Pyongyang's apparent move toward additional weapons-grade plutonium.

North Korea has refused to return to the six-nation process that also involves the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. June, which marks a year since the talks were last held, is widely considered a deadline for a return to negotiations.

Washington's Proliferation Security Initiative, an international effort that allows for the seizure of missiles and other potential components of weapons of mass destruction shipped from North Korea and other countries of concern, could also be used against the North.

"It is a very effective tool to deal with the problems of proliferation that might resort from any place of the world," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this week.

Analysts in Seoul say Kim must make a decision because U.S. patience is wearing thin.

Kim Tae-hyun, a professor at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, says the United States is waiting one last time before seeking tougher options.

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has stepped up efforts to maintain the dialogue momentum to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem, dispatching chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill to Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo," he said.

Hill, assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, flew to Seoul Saturday and met with South Korean officials before leaving for Beijing Tuesday.

"What we are focusing on is the diplomatic track and the need to get the talks going, and more importantly, once they get going, to achieve progress in the talks," he said after meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Song Min-soon.

In Beijing, Hill said he was trying "to get the six-party process going."

"We have got five countries that are there and one that continues to stay away, so as soon as we get the North Koreans to the talks, we look forward to vigorous negotiations," he said.

South Korean officials, however, say Hill also hinted for the first time his nation could explore other options to prevent North Korea from building a nuclear arsenal.

"As North Korea gas refused to return the bargaining table for almost a year, U.S. patience is rapidly running out," Kim said.

"If North Korea's nuclear diplomacy is aimed at securing economic and political benefits, it should recognize time is running out and move to get them."

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