North Korea Threatens U.S. in Nuclear Warning

A Wall Street Journal Roundup

SEOUL—North Korea's top governing body warned Thursday that the regime will conduct its third nuclear test in defiance of the United Nations, and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the U.S.

The National Defense Commission, North Korea's highest military bodyheaded by the country's young leader, Kim Jong Eun, denounced Tuesday's U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Korea's long-range rocket launch in December as a banned missile activity and expanding sanctions against the regime.

A nuclear test of a higher level will be carried out," said a statement from the National Defense Commission, adding that "a variety of satellites and long-range rockets will be launched by the DPRK one after another."

The 1,000 word statement covered familiar bases in typical hyperbole: a rejection of the legitimacy of the United Nations Security Council, a defense of the North's right to launch rockets and an accusation of the U.S. being the ringleader in a global conspiracy to trample over North Korea's sovereignty.

The commission reaffirmed in its declaration that the launch was a peaceful bid to send a satellite into space, but also clearly indicated the country's rocket launches have a military purpose: to strike and attack the U.S…

The U.S. State Department had no immediate response to Thursday's statement. Shortly before the commission issued its declaration, U.S. envoy on North Korea Glyn Davies urged Pyongyang not to explode an atomic device.

"Whether North Korea tests or not, it is up to North Korea. We hope they don't do it. We call on them not to do it," he told reporters in Seoul after meeting with South Korean officials. "It will be a mistake and a missed opportunity if they were to do it."

Mr. Davies was in Seoul on a trip that includes his stops in China and Japan for talks on how to move forward on North Korea relations.

While experts say North Korea doesn't have the capability to hit the U.S. with its missiles, recent tests and rhetoric indicate the country is feverishly working toward that goal.

The commission pledged to keep launching satellites and rockets and to conduct a nuclear test as part of a "new phase" of combat with the U.S., which it blames for leading the U.N. bid to punish Pyongyang. It said a nuclear test was part of "upcoming" action but didn't say exactly when or where it would take place.

"We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the coming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the commission said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words, as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival," the commission said.

The statement made clear Kim Jong Eun's commitment to continue developing the country's nuclear and missile programs in defiance of the Security Council, even at risk of further international isolation.

Satellite photos taken last month at a nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, in far northeast North Korea, showed continued activity that suggested a state of readiness even in winter, according to analysis by 38 North, a North Korea website affiliated with the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies.

Another nuclear test would bring North Korea a step closer to being able to launch a long-range missile tipped with a nuclear warhead, said Daniel Pinkston, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.

"Their behavior indicates they want to acquire those capabilities," he said. "The ultimate goal is to have a robust nuclear deterrent."

Source: online.wsj.com