North Korea warns US

2004-12-20 13:54

Seoul - North Korea on Monday threatened to strengthen its "self-defensive deterrent force" if the United States continues policies that Pyongyang says are aimed at bringing down the communist state.

An unidentified spokesperson for the North's Foreign Ministry condemned the North Korean Human Rights Act - a recent US law aimed at improving human rights in the country.

"If the United States more desperately pursues its hostile policy to isolate and stifle (North Korea) under the pretext of the 'nuclear issue' and 'human rights issue' ... the latter will react to it by further increasing its self-defensive deterrent force," the spokesperson said.

North Korea has repeatedly cited the human rights law as an example of what it claims to be Washington's hostile policy.

"By nature the US is the worst human rights graveyard in the world," the spokesperson said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. "This is clearly proved by what happened in Iraq."

North Korea routinely issues such remarks against the United States.

Efforts are under way to persuade the North to return to six-party nuclear talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions.

However, North Korea has repeatedly insisted that it won't return to the negotiating table until the United States abandons its "hostile" policy toward the country.

The two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States have held three rounds of talks on how to end the North's nuclear threat since last year, without any breakthroughs.

A planned fourth round in September never took place, because Pyongyang refused to attend.

North Korea insists on getting economic aid and security guarantees in return for giving up its nuclear weapons ambitions, while the United States demands that the North immediately dismantle all nuclear facilities.

- AP