The chief of U.S. intelligence says North Korea is continuing to seek recognition as a nuclear power.

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said Tuesday that the North’s leader Kim Jong-il is once again seeking to have the United States and the international community recognize the North as a nuclear state.

He made the statement in a report submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

He added that although it is unclear whether Pyongyang has produced nuclear weapons, it is likely that the communist state has the ability to do so.

However, Blair stressed that the United States is sticking to its policy of not recognizing the North as a nuclear power, adding that Washington is closely watching the North to determine whether it is attempting to resume exports of nuclear technology.