In his speech at the U.N. General Assembly in NY on Friday (local time), North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho vowed to bolster the country’s nuclear armed forces to cope with “increased war threats from the United States”, claiming the country’s fifth nuclear test was part of such an efforts.
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“Yes, we do have such a plan”, Han replied, as quoted by CNN.
Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Hong-kyun (left), South Korea’s senior representative to the Six-Party Talks, with his Chinese counterpart, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei, in Beijing on Sep. 22.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said countries must enforce United Nations resolutions ensuring North Korea pays for “dangerous actions”.
Of course, the obvious reason for making such a well-publicized declaration is precisely to send a message to Pyongyang, whose behavior has been increasingly provocative of late.
The US military has said at least one of two supersonic bombers that it flew over South Korea approached the border with North Korea.
“Today’s nuclear test, a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, makes clear North Korea’s disregard for worldwide norms and standards for behavior and demonstrates it has no interest in being a responsible member of the global community”. These activities have concerned Seoul, a US ally, the most and prompted it to consent to the controversial deployment of the US Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on its soil to further complicate the already volatile situation in the Korean Peninsula.
Speaking to the General Assembly, Ri Yong-ho on Friday said his country will “continue to take measures to strengthen its national nuclear armed forces in both quantity and quality”.
Discussions are already under way on a possible new United Nations sanctions resolution after North Korea’s fifth and largest nuclear test on September 9.
“Going nuclear is the policy of our state”, Ri told the world gathering.
In his address, Ri acknowledged that the nuclear tests “may not be easily understood by European countries”, which he said were now “less sensitive” to security concerns decades after the end of the Cold War. He cited that an agreement between the US and South Korea does not permit negotiations.
He accused the United States of threatening North Korea by flying B1-B strategic bombers over the military demarcation line on the Korean peninsula and warned: “We will never remain onlookers at it and the United States will have to face tremendous consequences beyond imagination”.
Kerry also vowed that the United States would defend its own citizens against the North Korean threat and honor its security commitments to its allies.
Speculation is spreading that North Korea will go ahead with a sixth nuclear detonation – or test-launch a missile with a long enough range to make the USA take notice – early next month.
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North Korea has spent months aggressively building up its nuclear missile program, launching bout sea and and land-based test runs.
