(1) Can he provide details of the occasions since March 1996 when he has described the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a threat to Australia's security.

(2) Can he provide details of the Governments assessment of: (a) the number of (i) nuclear weapons warheads, (ii) chemical weapons warheads and (iii) biological weapons warheads, and (b) the number of missiles including: (i) the type, and (ii) their range, in the DPRK's possession.

(1) I have on many occasions referred to the DPRK as a threat to Australia's security. Recent instances include:

- on 10 March 2003 I wrote in the International Herald Tribune, `... any move by the North to reprocess its spent reactor fuel rods to extract plutonium', or `... launching a long-range ballistic missile...' `... would destabilise the region and have global ramifications.'

- on 2 March 2003, on Channel 10's Meet the Press I said `(Iraq and DPRK)...are both very substantial threats to international security and that includes Australia.'

- on 28 February 2003, in an interview with Tricia Duffield on radio 2SM, I said the DPRK `is quite a threat.'

- on 27 February 2003, in a doorstop interview, I said `if North Korea is going to continue to develop its nuclear program and... missile systems... that's a major security threat to the Asia-Pacific Region as well as the world beyond.'

- on 12 February 2003 during Question Time in the House of Representatives, I said `We do see it (the DPRK) as a serious threat to regional security.'

- on 3 January 2003, in The Age I wrote `The ramifications of an overt and expanding nuclear weapons program in North Korea would be disastrous for the Asia-Pacific region and beyond ... The region would be destabilised and global resources would be diverted.'

- on 11 March 2003, the Joint Ministerial Statement of the Sixth Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum `expressed serious concern at the threat to regional and global security posed by the DPRK's nuclear program.'

(2) (a) (i) While it is difficult to be certain that North Korea actually has nuclear weapons the Government's assessment is that it could have enough weapons-grade fissile material for one or two, or possibly three nuclear weapons; (ii) & (iii) North Korea is thought to be developing or already has chemical and biological weapons but there is no detailed information available on actual DPRK holdings of these weapons.

(b) North Korea is thought to have large numbers of Scud and No-Dong missiles. The Scuds have estimated ranges of 300-500 kms, while the No-Dong has a range of 1300 kms. North Korea also continues to develop an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Taepo Dong-2. The range of the Taepo Dong-2 would depend on configuration and payload but could go as high as 15,000 kms. Operational deployment of the Taepo Dong-2 is probably still some years away.