U.S. President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has confirmed that North Korea detonated a nuclear weapon in 2006.

Leon Panetta made the remark Thursday in a statement presented to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Panetta’s remark is at odds with statements issued so far by the U.S. government on the issue.

Washington had previously adhered to a position that the North detonated a crude nuclear device, not a nuclear weapon. Washington has also continuously refused to recognize the North as a nuclear state --- a stance that might change with Panetta’s remarks.

The U.S. National Intelligence Council, a report issued by the Joint Forces Command under the Defense Department, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates have all mentioned North Korea as a nation possessing nuclear weapons.