North Korea said Thursday that it has no choice but to “counter nuclear with nuclear” above the “hostile policy” of the United States, which it blames for the failed bilateral talks.
“To eliminate the nuclear threats from the US, the DPRK government made every effort, whether through dialogue or resorting to international law, but it all ended in vain,” said the Institute for Disarmament and Peace of the North Korean Foreign Ministry in a report, according to NK News, a South Korean-based US website. “The option that remained was only one, and that was to counter nuclear energy with nuclear energy.”
The statement, released by state media, was slated to commemorate the start of the Korean War 70 years ago.
CHRIS WALLACE SAYS NORTH KOREA’S DESTROY OF LINK OFFICE INDICATES NUKE TALKS “HAVE BASICALLY LOCKED”
The government announced plans to build its weapons arsenal “to contain the persistent nuclear threats from the United States,” according to NK News.
North Korea’s announcement came just days after the country said it was suspending “military action plans” against South Korea after it bombed a liaison office used for talks between the two countries in a border city. Korea, and in response, the South Korean Defense Ministry said it would maintain a “resolute military posture.”
The United States left Korea in 1953 when the fight ended after a ceasefire and armistice agreement, but, because no peace treaty was signed, the war technically continues.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump have held two nuclear summits and Trump became the first US president to set foot on the closed country last year, but talks have yielded no tangible results on the denuclearization of Korea.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In March, the country said that despite Kim and Trump’s “special personal relationships”, pressure from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to abandon nuclear weapons led North Korea to abandon dialogue with the United States.
