Info on N. Korea was declassified by mistake

WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. intelligence official disclosed Thursday that a congressman inadvertently revealed classified information when he read aloud a passage from a Defense Intelligence Agency report that said North Korea had the know-how to put a nuclear warhead on a missile.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the paragraph read out loud by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) at House hearing last week was "miscategorized as unclassified."

"Armed Services Committee staff confirmed the classification level of the relevant section in writing with DIA before it was introduced in last week's hearing," said Claude Chafin, a spokesman for the Republican majority on the House Armed Services Committee.

A DNI spokesman confirmed the DIA mislabeled that section.

Clapper repeated his contention that North Korea has made progress, but "has not, however, fully developed, tested or demonstrated the full range of capabilities necessary for a nuclear-armed missile." -- AP