North Korea to quit nuke talks

SEOUL - NORTH Korea announced on Tuesday it would quit six-nation disarmament talks and restart its nuclear weapons programme in protest at the UN's condemnation of its rocket launch this month.

The communist state said the Security Council's discussion of a peaceful satellite launch was 'an unbearable insult' to its people.

It said it 'sternly rejects' the Council's action and would strengthen its nuclear deterrent in response.

'There is no need for the six-party (nuclear disarmament) talks any more,' said a foreign ministry statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

'We will never again take part in such talks and will not be bound by any agreement reached at the talks.' The North 'will strengthen its nuclear deterrent for its defence by all means,' it said.

'We will take steps to restore disabled nuclear facilities... and reprocess used fuel rods that came from experimental nuclear reactors.' The statement, which analysts described as unusually strong, came just hours after the Security Council unanimously approved its statement.

Pyongyang had been disabling plants at Yongbyon that produced weapons-grade plutonium as part of a February 2007 six-nation deal.

It previously threatened to quit the talks, which began in 2003, should the Security Council criticise its April 5 rocket launch.

Pyongyang's regime has been trumpeting its success in launching what it termed a peaceful communications satellite.

The United States and its allies say no satellite has been detected in orbit and the North's purpose in any case was to test a long-range missile. -- AFP



Source : http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_363420.html