DPRK vows to enlarge nuclear arsenal

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-26 07:54

SEOUL: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) vowed yesterday to enlarge its atomic arsenal and warned of a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation" in the event of a US attack, as the country marked the 1950 outbreak of the Korean War.

The anniversary came as the US Navy followed a DPRK ship suspected of carrying weapons in violation of a UN resolution punishing Pyongyang's May 25 nuclear test, and as anticipation mounted that the DPRK might test-fire short- or mid-range missiles in the coming days.

President Barack Obama extended US economic sanctions against the DPRK for another year on Wednesday, saying the DPRK's possession of "weapons-usable fissile material" and its proliferation risk "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States, according to the White House website.

According to the 2008 document outlining the restrictions, "all property and interests in property of North Korea (DPRK) or a North Korean national ... were blocked." The US measures are on top of UN sanctions that bar member states from buying weapons from or selling them to the DPRK. They also ban the sale of luxury goods to the isolated country and prohibit the provision of weapons-related technical training and financial transactions.

State-run newspapers in Pyongyang ran lengthy editorials accusing the US of invading the country in 1950 and of looking for an opportunity to attack again. The editorials said those actions justified the DPRK's development of atomic bombs to defend itself.

The DPRK "will never give up its nuclear deterrent ... and will further strengthen it" as long as Washington remains hostile, Pyongyang's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said.

In a separate commentary, the paper blasted a recent US pledge to defend the Republic of Korea (ROK) with its nuclear weapons, saying that amounted to "asking for the calamitous situation of having a fire shower of nuclear retaliation all over South Korea (ROK)."

The US has repeatedly said it has no intention of attacking the DPRK.

The new UN resolution seeks to clamp down on the DPRK's trading of banned arms and weapons-related material by requiring UN member states to request inspections of ships carrying suspicious cargo.

The DPRK has said it would consider any interception of its ships a declaration of war.

Ship passes Taiwan Straits

The Kang Nam - the ship the US is tracking - is the first DPRK ship to be followed under the resolution. It left the DPRK port of Nampo a week ago and is believed bound for Myanmar, ROK and US officials said.

A senior US defense official said on Wednesday that the ship had already cleared the Taiwan Straits.

He said he didn't know how much range the Kang Nam has - whether or when it may need to stop at a port to refuel - but that the ship has in the past stopped in Hong Kong.

Another US defense official said he tended to doubt reports that the Kang Nam was carrying nuclear-related equipment, saying the information officials had received seemed to indicate the cargo was conventional munitions.

The US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing intelligence.

The US and its allies have not decided whether to contact and request an inspection of the ship, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said on Wednesday.

(China Daily 06/26/2009 page11)