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President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Pentagon upset key U.S. ally South Korea Tuesday when he labeled North Korea a "nuclear power" in a statement submitted to a Senate panel.
Pete Hegseth made the comment in his written response to policy questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee released at the start of his Tuesday confirmation hearing.
South Korean officials interpreted Hegseth's comment as showing possible U.S. recognition of North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, a status granted only to five countries under an international treaty barring nuclear weapons development.
