Sanctions mean war – N Korea

SEOUL – North Korea said yesterday the new UN resolution imposing sanctions on the country was a “declaration of war” and warned it would strike back at any nations that try to tighten the screws on its regime.

In its first reaction since the UN Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to punish the North for testing an atom bomb, it said having a nuclear weapon was its right and completely rejected the Council’s decision. The statement, which underlined North Korea’s unwillingness to back down in the face of strong international pressure led by the United States, comes amid a US diplomatic push urging nations to enforce the sanctions vigourously.”We will deliver merciless blows without hesitation to whoever tries to breach our sovereignty and right to survive under the excuse of carrying out the UN Security Council resolution,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.”We will watch US movements and take corresponding action,” said the unnamed spokesman, quoted by the secretive regime’s official KCNA agency.The statement blasted Washington for calling its October 9 test a threat to international security – language included in the UN resolution – and accused the Council of overlooking US hostility to the North.”This is an immoral behaviour utterly devoid of impartiality,” it said.”The UNSC ‘resolution,’ needless to say, can not be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war against the DPRK (North Korea) because it was based on the scenario of the US, keen to destroy the socialist system.”Impoverished and almost completely cut off from the rest of the world, the country – officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea – had kept the world guessing for almost 20 years about its atomic programme.It finally declared in February 2005 that it had nuclear weapons and carried out its first test last week, citing what it called threats from the United States which it believes wants to topple the communist regime.The statement cautioned that North Korea was ready to take action to defend its “sovereignty.”Nampa-AFPThe statement, which underlined North Korea’s unwillingness to back down in the face of strong international pressure led by the United States, comes amid a US diplomatic push urging nations to enforce the sanctions vigourously.”We will deliver merciless blows without hesitation to whoever tries to breach our sovereignty and right to survive under the excuse of carrying out the UN Security Council resolution,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.”We will watch US movements and take corresponding action,” said the unnamed spokesman, quoted by the secretive regime’s official KCNA agency.The statement blasted Washington for calling its October 9 test a threat to international security – language included in the UN resolution – and accused the Council of overlooking US hostility to the North.”This is an immoral behaviour utterly devoid of impartiality,” it said.”The UNSC ‘resolution,’ needless to say, can not be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war against the DPRK (North Korea) because it was based on the scenario of the US, keen to destroy the socialist system.”Impoverished and almost completely cut off from the rest of the world, the country – officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea – had kept the world guessing for almost 20 years about its atomic programme.It finally declared in February 2005 that it had nuclear weapons and carried out its first test last week, citing what it called threats from the United States which it believes wants to topple the communist regime.The statement cautioned that North Korea was ready to take action to defend its “sovereignty.”Nampa-AFP