By Kim Hyo-jin
North Korea declared Saturday that it would boost its nuclear capability in response to the United Nations' adoption of a resolution against its alleged human rights violations.
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) will increase its efforts to bolster its capability for self-defense including nuclear force,” said the North’s Foreign Ministry in a statement.
The United Nations passed the resolution in the General Assembly Thursday against the repressive nation for its alleged state-perpetrated violations of human rights. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to convene a meeting today to discuss the issue.
Describing the U.N. resolution a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime, the ministry said, “The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has lost its meaning.”
It criticized the U.S. for making previous agreements including the Sept. 19 joint statement, a “virtually dead paper”, though it said they contained mutual respect for sovereignty and peaceful co-existence.
The Sept. 19 joint statement was the first major result of the six-party talks, at the initiative of China, toward denuclearization of North Korea. It states that the U.S. would not attack the North and provide economic aid in exchange for Pyongyang’s possible abandonment of all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.
In response, Seoul denounced North Korea Sunday for threatening the nullification of the agreement on denuclearization. It also urged Pyongyang to take measures to improve the human rights of its people.
The United Nations has adopted a resolution against the North for a decade since 2005. But, it was first time that the U.N. resolution called for the referral of its leader to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
North Korean has responded in hostile terms to the U.N. move over the past months.