By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea's foreign ministry threatened Sunday to conduct a new type of nuclear test to bolster its deterrence in response to the denouncement by the United Nations (UN) against its recent ballistic missile launches.
"We will not rule out a new form of test to further strengthen our nuclear deterrence," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
The new test may be the detonation of a hydrogen bomb.
On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council said that Pyongyang's launch of two mid-range Rodong missiles was in violation of U.N. resolutions and that it will continue discussing an "appropriate response." The resolutions ban the use of ballistic missile technology, even though the missiles were fired into its territorial waters.
"There was unanimous condemnation of the launches," said Luxembourg's U.N. Ambassador Sylvie Lucas, president of the 15-nation Security Council for the month of March. "We also all agreed that this response should be given quickly."
The North Korean statement also said that the U.S. is staging madcap nuclear war maneuvers, with a massive introduction of aggressive forces and destructive weapons in its joint military exercise with South Korea, aimed at "occupying Pyongyang," and in response to these maneuvers, the North would counter with a variety of nuclear deterrence.
"If the U.S. considers this a provocation, we are fully ready to take steps that the enemy can hardly imagine," it said.
"The United States should not act rashly and it will bear all responsibility in the event of a catastrophic event on the Korean Peninsula."
Last week, President Park Geun-hye met with U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands and discussed denuclearization of the North.
The North criticized the U.S. for attempting to bar detente on the Korean Peninsula and preventing inter-Korean relations from advancing.
However, the defense ministry said last week that the reclusive state has shown no signs of conducting an imminent nuclear test.
North Korea's foreign ministry threatened Sunday to conduct a new type of nuclear test to bolster its deterrence in response to the denouncement by the United Nations (UN) against its recent ballistic missile launches.
"We will not rule out a new form of test to further strengthen our nuclear deterrence," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
The new test may be the detonation of a hydrogen bomb.
On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council said that Pyongyang's launch of two mid-range Rodong missiles was in violation of U.N. resolutions and that it will continue discussing an "appropriate response." The resolutions ban the use of ballistic missile technology, even though the missiles were fired into its territorial waters.
"There was unanimous condemnation of the launches," said Luxembourg's U.N. Ambassador Sylvie Lucas, president of the 15-nation Security Council for the month of March. "We also all agreed that this response should be given quickly."
The North Korean statement also said that the U.S. is staging madcap nuclear war maneuvers, with a massive introduction of aggressive forces and destructive weapons in its joint military exercise with South Korea, aimed at "occupying Pyongyang," and in response to these maneuvers, the North would counter with a variety of nuclear deterrence.
"If the U.S. considers this a provocation, we are fully ready to take steps that the enemy can hardly imagine," it said.
"The United States should not act rashly and it will bear all responsibility in the event of a catastrophic event on the Korean Peninsula."
Last week, President Park Geun-hye met with U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands and discussed denuclearization of the North.
The North criticized the U.S. for attempting to bar detente on the Korean Peninsula and preventing inter-Korean relations from advancing.
However, the defense ministry said last week that the reclusive state has shown no signs of conducting an imminent nuclear test.
![[INTERVIEW] Central Seoul's Jung District aims to transform into global iconic destination](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/66c993a0f8344314bebf4859a6004e8f.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
