North Korea Nuclear Crisis

DPRK to conduct nuclear test against hostile US policy

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-04 17:33

Pyongyang -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK) on Tuesday announced that it would conduct a nuclear test in the future as a war deterrent against the US hostile policy.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (C) inspects Korean People's Army unit 1643 somewhere in North Korea August 28, 2006.  [Reuters]

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the DPRK said " [for] scientific research, the DPRK will in the future conduct a nuclear test under conditions where safety is firmly guaranteed," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

But the statement did not give a specific date or location for the upcoming test.

The DPRK said it would implement its international commitment on nuclear non-proliferation "as a responsible nuclear weapons state" although in January 2003 it quit the Non-proliferation Treaty

The DPRK "will never use nuclear weapons first, but strictly prohibit any threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear transfer," the statement said.

Meanwhile, The DPRK also affirmed that it would strive to "realize the denuclearization of the (Korean) peninsula and give impetus to worldwide nuclear disarmament and the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons."

The statement accused the United States of adopting a hostile policy toward the DPRK, saying that was why it must conduct a nuclear test, as a way of bolstering its war deterrence.

"The US' extreme threat of a nuclear war and (its) sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test", said the statement.

"Under the present situation ... the US moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK have reached the worst phase, going beyond the extremity," it said.

"The DPRK can no longer remain an on-looker to the developments, " it added.

The DPRK is believed by U.S. officials to have possessed one or two nuclear weapons for years, and that it has the capability to produce more.

In a joint statement at the end of the fourth round of the six-party talks in September 2005, the DPRK promised to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs while the United States affirmed that it had no intention of attacking or invading the DPRK with nuclear or conventional weapons.

In October last year, Washington imposed financial restrictions on the DPRK, saying that Pyongyang's companies had been involved in illicit activities, including counterfeiting, money laundering and financing weapons proliferation, which, in turn, led to the DPRK refusal to return to the six-party talks.

The talks, which involves China, the DPRK, the United States, South Korea, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since the first phase of the fifth round of talks ended last November.