NORTH KOREA: Pyongyang says it will ignore UN resolutions on nuclear program

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Att.Editors: The following item is from the Qatar News Agency (QNA)

SEOUL, Apr 5 2003 (IPS) - North Korea today warned it would ignore any UN resolution over nuclear weapons development as the Security Council prepared to discuss the international standoff over the issue.

The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is not something that should be discussed at the United Nations, said Pyongyang’s state KCNA news agency.

North Korea would not recognize and pronounce null any resolution or document on the nuclear issue, said KCNA, monitored by South Korea’s news agency (YONHAP).

The Security Council is due to discuss the nuclear dispute next Wednesday.

Pyongyang rejects UN involvement, saying its only dispute is with the United States and demanding direct talks with Washington.

The UN seems to have lost its mandate because of the US invasion of Iraq, KCNA said. It is ridiculous for the UNSC to talk about handling the North Korean nuclear issue.

However, KCNA urged the United Nations to indict the US for sparking the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.