China has a limited capability now, but it is on the verge of going beyond what NMD is intended to deal with. The Pentagon says NMD is not intended to defeat a full-scale attack by China, but rather, to defeat an accidental launch by China or Russia or a limited attack by a rogue state. FBI Raids Scientist's Home FBI agents searched the home of a fired Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist for nearly six hours Saturday, hauling away boxes of evidence in their investigation into whether he leaked nuclear weapons secrets to China. Wen Ho Lee has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and FBI officials caution they may not have a criminal case when their investigation ends. The search happened the day after Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji wrapped up a trip to Washington that included meetings with President Clinton and congressional leaders.
China denies stealing any U.S. secrets.
China's government-run Xinhua News Agency reported last month that Lee attended two conferences with Chinese counterparts in the 1980's but said no secrets were shared. R Y China may have greatly increased its nuclear weapons capabilities if it did steal U.S. nuclear warhead secrets. Click here for Terms of Use and Privacy Policy applicable to this site.