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Pyongyang needs nuclear containment forces for self-defence

A spokesman of the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement

PYONGYANG, May 6 (Itar-Tass) — A spokesman of the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement, circulated by the KCNA news agency on Sunday, that North Korea “will make space explorations for peaceful purposes and use nuclear energy to create a prospering state”.

According to the diplomat, North Korea “depends, as before, on forces of nuclear containment for self-defence”. This statement by the Foreign Ministry spokesman was a reply to a call by permanent members of the UN Security Council, made this week and addressed to North Korea.

The call was made at a conference on nuclear security in Vienna concerning a refusal to stage any nuclear tests. Judging by the response of the Foreign Ministry, Pyongyang appraised this stance by the Security Council as a move, “violating the DPRK’s sovereignty and its right to use outer space and nuclear energy for peaceful purposes”.

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