| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SEOUL : North Korea has vowed it would not give up its nuclear weapons programme and accused the United States of working on new plans to attack the communist country.
The Korean peninsula is "on the brink of war because of a new war scheme by US hostile forces," the North's ruling party newspaper Rodon Sinmun said in an editorial.
It reiterated a promise by Pyongyang to bolster its deterrent, arguing the United States has been working on a new "nuclear war scenario for aggression."
"We are compelled to bolster our nuclear deterrent" as hostile forces have clarified their scheme to occupy North Korea by force, it added.
The North has made similar comments almost every day since threatening last week to carry out fresh nuclear and missile tests unless the United Nations apologises for condemning and punishing its April 5 rocket launch.
Pyongyang says the launch put communications satellite into orbit, but the United States, South Korea and Japan say it was a disguised missile test.
On Monday, the North's foreign ministry denounced Washington for trying to find an excuse for applying sanctions against Pyongyang.
The UN Security Council on April 13 slapped sanctions against North Korea, banning transactions and calling on UN member states to freeze the assets of three business entities of Pyongyang.
In protest, the North said it had started reprocessing spent fuel rods at its Yongbyon complex to make weapons-grade plutonium.
It had already announced it was quitting a six-nation nuclear disarmament pact with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Analysts say the North's threat to conduct a second nuclear test, following a first in October 2006, is aimed at forcing the United States to open direct negotiations.
- AFP/vm
|
