NETWATCH . . . U.S. HACKED OFF AT U.K. HACKER

A 16-year-old British computer whiz spent seven months tapping into U.S. defense computers -- including eavesdropping on secret U.S. communications over the North Korean nuclear crisis last spring -- and then posted classified messages on the Internet, London's Independent newspaper reported today. The paper said the teenager, known as "Datastream" among Internet users, was finally nabbed by U.S. investigators last July because he left his terminal connected to an American defense computer overnight. (Prosecutors will decide this month whether they can charge him, the paper said.) Said another British hacker, who told the Independent he'd seen Datastream's postings: "He kept detailed logs of communication traffic. He really couldn't believe his luck. The Americans thought he was a spy, but he told them he was just doing it for fun."