Accra, Oct. 10, (UPI/GNA) – North Korea on
Thursday lashed out at European Union members of the U.N. Security Council for
issuing a statement condemning its recent test of a new submarine-launched
ballistic missile, calling it a “grave provocation” against
Pyongyang.
In a statement carried by the official
Korean Central News Agency, a spokesperson of the North’s foreign ministry
accused the United States of pushing the countries to sign the statement,
warning that Pyongyang might reconsider the steps it has taken to build trust
with Washington.
“Our patience has limits, and there is
no law that what we have been restraining from will last indefinitely,”
the spokesperson said.
Following the North’s missile launch last
week, Britain, France, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Estonia issued the joint
statement on Tuesday, urging Pyongyang to engage in “meaningful”
denuclearization negotiations with the United States.
Along with its intercontinental ballistic
missiles, the North’s Sub-marine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) program is
considered one of the biggest threats to the United States and its allies, as
it could extend the range of the North’s nuclear missiles. SLBMs are also hard
to detect before they emerge from the water.
The North’s latest SLBM test came just days
before it resumed working-level nuclear talks with the United States in
Stockholm.
It was the two sides’ first meeting since
the collapse of the Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February. But the talks broke off again, with the
North accusing the United States for failing to come up with a new proposal.
The ministry spokesperson said North Korea
is “contemplating” the United States’ intention of coming to the
talks “empty-handed” and pushing its “followers” to issue
such a statement criticizing the North.
“It is a grave provocation against us
to take issue with such a fair move we take under the right to defend
ourselves, while not saying a single word about the U.S.’ recent Minuteman 3
Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launch,” the statement said,
adding that the United States’ ICBM launch was apparently aimed at pressuring
the North.
The spokesperson also hinted at the
possibility of the North resuming its own nuclear or ICBM tests, saying the
country could take a corresponding countermeasure against the U.S. ICBM launch,
but is refraining from such a move.
Declaring the breakdown of the working-level
talks Saturday, the North’s top negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, said it depends
entirely on Washington whether Pyongyang will continue its self-imposed
moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests.
GNA
