North Korea threatens return of nuke and missile tests

SEOUL: North Korea has called outside condemnation of its weapons launches a “grave provocation” and threatened again to resume nuclear and long-range missile tests.

Yesterday’s warning by Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry followed the weekend breakdown of North Korea-US nuclear negotiations in Sweden, the first such talks between the countries in more than seven months.

North Korea said the talks collapsed because the US didn’t have any new proposals, and whether it maintained its moratorium on major weapons tests was up to Washington.

Some observers say North Korea’s threat may be a tactic to pressure the US into making concessions as restarting nuclear and long-range missile tests would likely derail negotiations, deepen its international isolation and further dim prospects for rebuilding its moribund economy.

A ministry statement took issue with condemnation on Tuesday by the European members of the UN Security Council of North Korea’s recent ballistic missile and other weapons tests, including its first underwater-launched missile launch in three years on Oct 2.

North Korea said the tests were of the self-defence nature and accused the US of being behind the European condemnation.

The statement said the condemnation was particularly a “grave provocation to us” because the Security Council didn’t act on the Oct 2 US test of an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile, which it said was apparently designed to apply pressure on North Korea.

A US Air Force Global Strike Command statement, however, said such tests demonstrated the capability of the intercontinental ballistic missile system and were not a response to world events or regional tensions.

North Korea said it could make a response “on the same level” but was refraining from doing that because it was still unnecessary or premature to do so.

However, it added that “our patience has a limit” and that the European condemnation was pushing North Korea to reconsider whether to maintain the disarmament steps it had taken to build confidence with the US.