NKorea to quit talks, reopen nuke plants

Monday, April 13, 2009 at 10:37 PM Posted by Beijing News


North Korea announced it would quit six-nation disarmament talks and restart its nuclear weapons programme in protest at the UN's condemnation of its rocket launch this month.

The communist state said the Security Council's discussion of a peaceful satellite launch was "an unbearable insult" to its people.

It said it "sternly rejects" the Council's action and would strengthen its nuclear deterrent in response.

"There is no need for the six-party nuclear disarmament talks any more," said a foreign ministry statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"We will never again take part in such talks and will not be bound by any agreement reached at the talks."

The North "will strengthen its nuclear deterrent for its defence by all means," it said.

"We will take steps to restore disabled nuclear facilities... and reprocess used fuel rods that came from experimental nuclear reactors."

The statement, which analysts described as unusually strong, came just hours after the Security Council unanimously approved its statement.

Pyongyang had been disabling plants at Yongbyon that produced weapons-grade plutonium as part of a February 2007 six-nation deal.

It previously threatened to quit the talks, which began in 2003, should the Security Council criticise its April 5 rocket launch.

Pyongyang's regime has been trumpeting its success in launching what it termed a peaceful communications satellite.

The United States and its allies say no satellite has been detected in orbit and the North's purpose in any case was to test a long-range missile.

The 15-member Council condemned the launch, saying it contravenes Security Council Resolution 1718 passed after the North's 2006 missile and nuclear tests.

It agreed to tighten sanctions, which were mandated under Resolution 1718 but never enforced amid hopes of progress on denuclearisation.

Backed by the United States and its European allies, Japan had pressed for a resolution, which carries more weight than a statement.

But China and Russia urged restraint to avoid harming prospects for resuming the six-party talks. These group the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.

"Even though the six-party talks were blown up by hostile forces and the denuclearisation process torn apart, we will take the responsibility of ensuring peace and security on the Korean peninsula with the strength of the Songun military-first policy," the North's statement said.

"The statement says the North is now moving to actions. It's crucial for the US, its allies and China to react wisely in order to control the situation."





A boy rides his bike at sunset in a park in Bucharest, Romania.AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

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