NK says nuclear test aims at US concessions

By Kim Young-jin

North Korea said Tuesday that its threatened nuclear test is directed at the United States.

The statement by the North’s National Defense Commission (NDC) came directly after Glyn Davies, U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy, urged Pyongyang to stand down.

"We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched (by the North) one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out in the upcoming all-out action...will target the U.S.," the NDC said in a dispatch carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency.

It didn’t elaborate what concessions it wants to extract from the U.S. with its nuclear test, but added that the move would aim to “foil” Washington’s “hostile policy.”

South Korean military officials believe the North is ready to conduct a third nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site, a move that would further raise tensions amid a spate of political transitions in Northeast Asia.

Analysts say the North’s statement aims to ratchet up tension in response to the adoption of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2087. The measure, backed by the regime’s key ally, China, adds entities and individuals to a U.N. sanctions list and warns of “significant action,” if it carries out nuclear test.

After talks with his South Korean counterpart Lim Sung-nam, Davies said the test would be “a mistake and a missed opportunity,” while reiterating the Barack Obama administration’s stance that engagement is possible if Pyongyang improves ties with Seoul and takes denuclearization steps.

"This is not a moment to increase tensions on the Korean Peninsula. This is the opportunity (for North Korea) to seize the moment to engage with the outside world,” Davies said.

The envoy added: “Our mission, starting here in Seoul, is to explore ideas of how we might move forward, how might we achieve authentic and credible negotiations. It is very much up to Pyongyang to decide.”

Following the adoption of the resolution, Pyongyang said it was giving up all efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. Multilateral talks, it said, would aim to achieve regional stability, not denuclearization.

Korea Institute of National Unification analyst Park Young-ho said the statement was in line with the North’s “aggressive tit-for-tat” strategy toward Washington. Pyongyang wants the U.S. to sign a peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War and withdraw its troops from the peninsula.

“The North continues to argue that denuclearization should go alongside a U.S. shift that throws away Washington’s so-called hostile policy,” he said. “The NDC statement falls in line with that.”

While the statement did not elaborate on what a “higher level” test would entail, analysts say it could involve achieving a significant yield or detonating a device using highly-enriched uranium technology.