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new nuclear test will be part of fight against U.S. |
North Korea says a new nuclear test will be part of fight against U.S.
North Korea said
Thursday that it plans to carry out a new nuclear test and further
long-range rocket launches, all of which it said are a part of a new
phase of confrontation with the United States.
The North's National
Defense Commission said the moves would feed into an "upcoming all-out
action" that would target the United States, "the sworn enemy of the
Korean people."
Carried by the state-run
Korean Central News Agency, the defense commission statement followed a
United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday that condemned
North Korea's recent rocket launch and expanded existing sanctions.
North Korea, which often
issues bellicose statements in its state media, said Thursday that it
rejected all Security Council resolutions concerning it.
It described this week's
resolution as "the most dangerous phase of the hostile policy toward the
DPRK," using the abbreviated version of its official name, the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Just before the North
sent out its hostile statement, a U.S. State Department official was
telling reporters in Seoul that Washington hoped that Pyongyang wouldn't
carry out another nuclear test.
"It would be a mistake
and a missed opportunity if they were to do it," said Glyn Davies, the
U.S. special envoy on North Korea. "This is not a moment to increase
tension on the Korean peninsula."
North Korea has carried out two previous nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009.
