North Korea said on Thursday it planned to carry out a third nuclear test and more rocket launches aimed at US, which Pyongyang described as its “arch enemy.”
North Korea said on Thursday it planned to carry out a third nuclear test and more rocket launches aimed at US, which Pyongyang described as its “arch enemy.”
"We do not hide that the various satellites and long-range rockets we will continue to launch, as well as the high-level nuclear test we will proceed with, are aimed at our arch-enemy the United States," the National Defense Commission said.
"Settling accounts with the US needs to be done with force, not with words," it added.
The mention of the test came towards the end of a commission statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
It did not specify when the test might be carried out, saying only that it would be part of an "upcoming all-out action that would mark a new phase" of the country's anti-US struggle.
It also did not elaborate on the meaning of "high-level". Agence France Presse quoted some experts as predicting that the North's next atomic test might be of a uranium bomb, rather than the plutonium devices it detonated in 2006 and 2009.
Such a development would indicate that North Korea had mastered the sophisticated technology needed to produce highly enriched uranium (HEU).
Much of Thursday’s statement was devoted to condemning Tuesday's announcement by the UN Security Council of expanded sanctions against Pyongyang in response to its long-range rocket launch last month.
"We absolutely refute all the illegal and outlawed resolutions adopted by the Security Council," the commission said.
Tuesday's resolution, proposed by the United States, was adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council, including the North's sole major ally China.
Beijing, which had sought to shield North Korea from harsher sanctions sought by the United States and its allies, appealed on Wednesday for restraint and diplomatic efforts to avoid a dangerous escalation of tensions.
"The DPRK's (North Korea's) satellite launch as well as speculation of a nuclear test highlight the urgency and importance of settling relevant issues on the Korean peninsula," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.
