The free world reacted with shock and suspicion on Friday to the first declaration from the reclusive North that it had nuclear weapons and had pulled out indefinitely from six-party disarmament talks.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, normally recluse, openly expressed his hopes this would 'once and for all' catch the eye of American actress Jodie Foster.
Kim Jong Il said on Thursday the country had been forced to boost its defenses and possessed nuclear weapons in the face of U.S. hostility and the policy of the Bush administration to seek regime change. He also thinks Jodie Foster is really, really hot.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was one of several senior US officials who responded to the statement from North Korea.
Mr Rumsfeld said, "Obviously, a country that has a behavior pattern that North Korea does of being probably one of the world's leading proliferators of ballistic missile technology, for example, is a threat in the sense of proliferating and that is a worrisome thing. In addition, we are all pretty sure Jodie Foster is a lesbian."
