scottishbmxer
10-11-2006, 02:57 PM
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...koreas_nuclear
NKorea says increased U.S. pressure to be considered war declaration
42 minutes ago
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said Wednesday that its reported underground nuclear test was a success, and increased U.S. pressure on the regime over the detonation would be considered an act of war.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry said the communist government could respond to U.S. pressure with "physical" measures.
"If the U.S. keeps pestering us and increases pressure, we will regard it as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical corresponding measures," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement didn't specify what those measures could be.
"We were compelled to conduct a nuclear test because of the U.S. nuclear threat and pressure of sanctions," the statement said. "We are ready for both dialogue and confrontation."
The statement was the first formal announcement from the North Korean government since KCNA reported the Monday test.
"Even though we conducted the nuclear test because of the U.S., we still remain committed to realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and negotiations," the ministry said.
Pyongyang claimed the test didn't violate a September agreement reached at international arms talks, where the country pledged to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
North Korea's No. 2 leader also threatened more nuclear tests if the United States continued its "hostile attitude" against the communist regime.
Kim Yong Nam, second to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, also suggested Pyongyang was ready to return to stalled six-party talks if sanctions against his country were lifted, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported from Pyongyang.
Kim, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, said in an interview with Kyodo that Pyongyang's next steps would hinge on U.S. policy toward it.
"The issue of future nuclear tests is linked to U.S. policy toward our country," Kim was quoted as saying when asked whether Pyongyang will conduct more nuclear tests.
"If the United States continues to take a hostile attitude and apply pressure on us in various forms, we will have no choice but to take physical steps to deal with that," he said.
Tensions heated up throughout Northeast Asia on Wednesday, with South Korea's military reportedly readying for nuclear conflict and North Korea warning that an international push for tighter sanctions would be an act of war.
A North Korean official said the isolated, impoverished country would regard full-scale sanctions against it as a call to war, Yonhap news agency reported.
"Sanctions are nonsense. If full-scale sanctions take place, we will regard it as a declaration of war," the official based in Beijing, who wasn't identified, told Yonhap. "The more pressure we get, the stronger our response will be."
Meanwhile, South Korea's military was checking its readiness for nuclear war, Yonhap said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff reported to Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung the need for verifying and improving troops' capabilities.
The Joint Chiefs raised the need for introducing state-of-the-art weapons capable of destroying the means of delivering nuclear weapons, the report said.
The Defence Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to confirm the report. The reported move could be expected in line with standard military practice across the world, where officers always prepare for the worst-case scenario.
how do you say, we are proper ****ed now?
NKorea says increased U.S. pressure to be considered war declaration
42 minutes ago
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said Wednesday that its reported underground nuclear test was a success, and increased U.S. pressure on the regime over the detonation would be considered an act of war.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry said the communist government could respond to U.S. pressure with "physical" measures.
"If the U.S. keeps pestering us and increases pressure, we will regard it as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical corresponding measures," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement didn't specify what those measures could be.
"We were compelled to conduct a nuclear test because of the U.S. nuclear threat and pressure of sanctions," the statement said. "We are ready for both dialogue and confrontation."
The statement was the first formal announcement from the North Korean government since KCNA reported the Monday test.
"Even though we conducted the nuclear test because of the U.S., we still remain committed to realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and negotiations," the ministry said.
Pyongyang claimed the test didn't violate a September agreement reached at international arms talks, where the country pledged to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
North Korea's No. 2 leader also threatened more nuclear tests if the United States continued its "hostile attitude" against the communist regime.
Kim Yong Nam, second to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, also suggested Pyongyang was ready to return to stalled six-party talks if sanctions against his country were lifted, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported from Pyongyang.
Kim, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, said in an interview with Kyodo that Pyongyang's next steps would hinge on U.S. policy toward it.
"The issue of future nuclear tests is linked to U.S. policy toward our country," Kim was quoted as saying when asked whether Pyongyang will conduct more nuclear tests.
"If the United States continues to take a hostile attitude and apply pressure on us in various forms, we will have no choice but to take physical steps to deal with that," he said.
Tensions heated up throughout Northeast Asia on Wednesday, with South Korea's military reportedly readying for nuclear conflict and North Korea warning that an international push for tighter sanctions would be an act of war.
A North Korean official said the isolated, impoverished country would regard full-scale sanctions against it as a call to war, Yonhap news agency reported.
"Sanctions are nonsense. If full-scale sanctions take place, we will regard it as a declaration of war," the official based in Beijing, who wasn't identified, told Yonhap. "The more pressure we get, the stronger our response will be."
Meanwhile, South Korea's military was checking its readiness for nuclear war, Yonhap said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff reported to Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung the need for verifying and improving troops' capabilities.
The Joint Chiefs raised the need for introducing state-of-the-art weapons capable of destroying the means of delivering nuclear weapons, the report said.
The Defence Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to confirm the report. The reported move could be expected in line with standard military practice across the world, where officers always prepare for the worst-case scenario.
how do you say, we are proper ****ed now?