N. Korea slams Obama nuclear aims as 'hostile'
Source: Agencies |
April 10, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
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NORTH Korea denounced US President Barack Obama's new nuclear strategy as "hostile" and vowed to continue building and expanding its atomic arsenal yesterday as the country's parliament held an annual session focused on revitalizing the economy.
The Supreme People's Assembly meets once a year in Pyongyang.
Last year's gathering marked leader Kim Jong Il's triumphant public return after months out of sight amid rumors of a stroke.
However, there was no sign yesterday of Kim -- who has skipped legislative sessions in the past -- in reports issued by the official Korean Central News Agency. State TV showed no footage from the session presided over by North Korea's premier, and Kim's name was not among a list of key participants mentioned in the report.
The Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said Obama was no better than the Bush administration, "hell-bent on posing a nuclear threat" to North Korea, and refused to give up its nuclear weapons.
"As long as the US nuclear threat persists, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will increase and update various type nuclear weapons as its deterrent in such a manner as it deems necessary in the days ahead," KCNA quoted an unnamed ministry spokesman as saying.
Washington and other regional powers have been trying to coax Pyongyang back to talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons program after North Korea abandoned the disarmament-for-aid talks last year.
North Korea had shown a willingness in recent months to return to the negotiating table but the ministry said Obama's new policy "chilled the hard-won atmosphere for the resumption of the talks."
At parliament, the most important item on the agenda involved "stepping up the technological upgrading and modernizing of the national economy," KCNA said.
The session follows a series of measures aimed at clamping down on the private markets that have flourished in recent years.
Late last year, North Korea redenominated its currency as part of efforts to lower inflation and reassert control over the nascent market economy.
But the move reportedly worsened the country's food situation as markets closed and many North Koreans were angered and left with piles of worthless bills.
The Supreme People's Assembly meets once a year in Pyongyang.
Last year's gathering marked leader Kim Jong Il's triumphant public return after months out of sight amid rumors of a stroke.
However, there was no sign yesterday of Kim -- who has skipped legislative sessions in the past -- in reports issued by the official Korean Central News Agency. State TV showed no footage from the session presided over by North Korea's premier, and Kim's name was not among a list of key participants mentioned in the report.
The Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said Obama was no better than the Bush administration, "hell-bent on posing a nuclear threat" to North Korea, and refused to give up its nuclear weapons.
"As long as the US nuclear threat persists, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will increase and update various type nuclear weapons as its deterrent in such a manner as it deems necessary in the days ahead," KCNA quoted an unnamed ministry spokesman as saying.
Washington and other regional powers have been trying to coax Pyongyang back to talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons program after North Korea abandoned the disarmament-for-aid talks last year.
North Korea had shown a willingness in recent months to return to the negotiating table but the ministry said Obama's new policy "chilled the hard-won atmosphere for the resumption of the talks."
At parliament, the most important item on the agenda involved "stepping up the technological upgrading and modernizing of the national economy," KCNA said.
The session follows a series of measures aimed at clamping down on the private markets that have flourished in recent years.
Late last year, North Korea redenominated its currency as part of efforts to lower inflation and reassert control over the nascent market economy.
But the move reportedly worsened the country's food situation as markets closed and many North Koreans were angered and left with piles of worthless bills.
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