Nuclear weapons 'the nation's life,' says NK
Source: Agencies |
April 1, 2013, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A TOP North Korean decision-making body issued a pointed warning yesterday, saying that nuclear weapons are "the nation's life" and will not be traded even for "billions of dollars."
The comments came in a statement released after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party.
The meeting, calling for building both a stronger economy and nuclear arsenal, comes amid a series of near-daily threats from Pyongyang in recent weeks, including a vow to launch nuclear strikes on the United States and a warning that the Korean Peninsula was in a "state of war."
The statement said North Korea's nuclear weapons are a "treasure" not to be traded for "billions of dollars." They "are neither a political bargaining chip nor a thing for economic dealings to be presented to the place of dialogue or be put on the table of negotiations aimed at forcing (North Korea) to disarm itself," it said.
North Korea's "nuclear armed forces represent the nation's life, which can never be abandoned as long as the imperialists and nuclear threats exist on earth," the statement said.
North Korea has called the nuclear arsenal of the US a threat to its existence since the 1950-53 Korean War. It justifies its own nuclear pursuit in large part on that perceived US threat.
South Korea has vowed to respond harshly should North Korea provoke its military. Naval skirmishes in disputed Yellow Sea waters off the Korean coast have led to bloody battles over the years. Attacks which Seoul blamed on North Korea in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans.
The plenary statement also called for strengthening the economy of North Korea where the United Nations says two-thirds of 24 million people face regular food shortages.
The statement called for diversified foreign trade and investment, and a focus on agriculture, light industry and a "self-reliant nuclear power industry," including a light water reactor.
There was also a call for "the development of space science and technology."
The comments came in a statement released after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party.
The meeting, calling for building both a stronger economy and nuclear arsenal, comes amid a series of near-daily threats from Pyongyang in recent weeks, including a vow to launch nuclear strikes on the United States and a warning that the Korean Peninsula was in a "state of war."
The statement said North Korea's nuclear weapons are a "treasure" not to be traded for "billions of dollars." They "are neither a political bargaining chip nor a thing for economic dealings to be presented to the place of dialogue or be put on the table of negotiations aimed at forcing (North Korea) to disarm itself," it said.
North Korea's "nuclear armed forces represent the nation's life, which can never be abandoned as long as the imperialists and nuclear threats exist on earth," the statement said.
North Korea has called the nuclear arsenal of the US a threat to its existence since the 1950-53 Korean War. It justifies its own nuclear pursuit in large part on that perceived US threat.
South Korea has vowed to respond harshly should North Korea provoke its military. Naval skirmishes in disputed Yellow Sea waters off the Korean coast have led to bloody battles over the years. Attacks which Seoul blamed on North Korea in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans.
The plenary statement also called for strengthening the economy of North Korea where the United Nations says two-thirds of 24 million people face regular food shortages.
The statement called for diversified foreign trade and investment, and a focus on agriculture, light industry and a "self-reliant nuclear power industry," including a light water reactor.
There was also a call for "the development of space science and technology."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
