PYONGYANG, January 25 (Itar-Tass) — The DPRK regards the UN Security Council resolution on the expansion of sanctions against Pyongyang as “an unpardonable challenge to the dignity and sovereignty of the People’s Republic, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement released on Friday.
It says that after the approval of this document, “fabricated by the United States, with the active participation of the South Korean regime,” the hostile policy of Washington and Seoul against North Korea has entered “the highest level.”
In this connection, the DPRK “will use force against South Korea in the event of its participation in the implementation of the sanctions,” the introduction of which for Pyongyang is tantamount to “declaration of war.” The Committee warned that North Korea no longer considers itself bound by the “Declaration on the Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” that has become null and void due to the policy of nuclear blackmail pursued by the United States and South Korea, as well as “refuses to hold any consultation on this issue between the North and the South.”
In addition, the statement says, the DPRK will not hold negotiations with South Korea at any level until Seoul “reconsiders its hostile policy toward Pyongyang.”
On Thursday, the National Defence Commission (NDC) headed by Kim Jong Un announced the decision to continue missile launches and to conduct another nuclear test in response to the UN Security Council resolution. “We do not hided that all the launches of satellites and long-range missiles, as well as the nuclear test will be targeted against the United States,” the statement says.
Earlier, the UN Security Council approved a resolution that expands the list of sanctions against the DPRK. It was adopted in connection with the launch of a rocket with a satellite Pyongyang carried out last December. The resolution was supported by all 15 members of the UN Security Council, including Russia and China. The resolution expands the sanctions list of the organisations and individuals in North Korea responsible for the preparation for the launch. Among them is the DPRK Committee of Space Technology, as well as several heads of relevant departments. North Korea on December 12 launched an Unha-3 rocket carrying the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite. The United States, Canada and other allies suspect that in this way North Korea tested a long-range ballistic missile. UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from any research in that field. Pyongyang’s reluctance to cooperate with the international community resulted in harsh sanctions. Such measures were taken unilaterally by the United States, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and a number of other states.
The DPRK claimed that the launch of the spacecraft was carried out for peaceful purposes and for economic development. However, many countries, especially the United States and its allies see this project as a veiled test of a long-range ballistic missile by Pyongyang.