Yonhap: DPRK FM Spokesman's Statement Vows To Continue Nuclear, Rocket Programs Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of Commerce.
SEOUL, May 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea vowed Sunday [ 6 May] to continue to push strongly forward with its nuclear and rocket programs, rejecting an appeal from the five permanent U.N. Security Council members that Pyongyang refrain from any acts escalating tensions.
The council members -- the United States, Britain, China, Russia and France -- issued the joint statement during a nuclear meeting in Vienna last week, urging Pyongyang to "refrain from further actions which may cause grave security concerns in the region, including any nuclear tests."
They also expressed "serious concern" over the North's rocket launch last month.
On Sunday [ 6 May], the North's Foreign Ministry rejected the statement as an "illegal act" violating the country's sovereignty and right to peaceful space and nuclear programs, saying the five powers are the ones that have conducted more nuclear tests and possess more nuclear weapons than any other nation.
"Based on our self-defensive nuclear deterrent, we will doggedly safeguard our independence and push powerfully for space and nuclear power industry development so as to build a great, prosperous and powerful nation," the ministry said in a statement.
North Korea has long used the term, "nuclear deterrent," to refer to its nuclear arsenal.
Pyongyang claims its long-range rocket launch was an attempt to put a satellite into orbit, but the liftoff, though a failure, was widely condemned as an attempt to test its ballistic missile technology.
The U.N. Security Council adopted a presidential statement condemning the launch last month.
After the North's failed rocket launch on April 13, concerns have grown that the communist regime could stage additional provocations. Experts have talked of the possibility of a nuclear test, which will be the North's third, as well as more missile tests and border clashes.
[Description of Source: Seoul Yonhap in English -- Semiofficial news agency of the ROK; URL: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr] Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by the source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of Commerce.