SEOUL – North Korea vowed yesterday to restart its nuclear reactor and to boycott international disarmament talks for good in retaliation for the UN Security Council’s condemnation of its rocket launch.
North Korea’s swift denunciation of the council’s ‘hostile’ move came hours after all 15 members unanimously agreed to condemn the April 5 launch as a violation of UN resolutions and to tighten sanctions against the regime.
The UN statement, issued eight days after the launch, was weaker than the resolution Japan and the United States had pursued but still drew an angry response from Pyongyang, which called it ‘unjust’ and a violation of international law.
North Korea claims it sent a communications satellite into space as part of a peaceful bid to develop its space programme.
The US and others call the launch an illicit test of the technology used to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile, even one eventually destined for the US.
A Security Council resolution passed in 2006, days after North Korea carried out an underground nuclear test, prohibits Pyongyang from engaging in any ballistic missile-related activity – including launching rockets that use the same delivery technology as missiles mounted with warheads, Washington and other nations say.
The council on Monday demanded an end to the rocket launches and said it will expand sanctions against the communist nation. The council also called for quick resumption of disarmament talks.
President Barack Obama called the statement a ‘clear and united message’ that North Korea’s action was unlawful.
– Nampa-AP
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