U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker says Washington believes North Korea probably has at least two or three nuclear weapons.

In a meeting with a group of reporters in Tokyo, Baker stressed the necessity of dismantling the nuclear capability of North Korea to resolve problems on the Korean Peninsula.

Baker also asserted that the six-party talks remain the best way to approach the North's nuclear issue, citing the failure of past bilateral talks between North Korea and the United States. He further argued that the collective power of multi-party talks has a much better chance of succeeding with North Korea than bilateral talks.

On a possible personnel shift in George W. Bush's new administration, Baker suggested, somewhat vaguely, that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage would be around "for a while."