U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has acknowledged that North Korea possesses nuclear weapons.

Clinton said at the Group of Eight foreign ministers' meeting in Canada on Wednesday that there are a number of nuclear threats posed by rogue regimes including North Korea, which she described as already having nuclear weapons.

Although the U.S. has recognized that North Korea has tested two nuclear devices, it had been maintaining a stance of refusing to recognize that the communist state possesses nuclear weapons.

The nuclear device North Korea tested in 2006 was considered by the U.S. to be a partial failure due to its minimal yield. However, the U.S. said the North’s testing of a nuclear device in 2008 showed significant improvement in Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.