Pyongyang not seeking to be recognized as nuclear power - diplomat.

24/5 Tass 128

PYONYANG, May 24 (Itar-Tass) - North Korea is not seeking to be
recognized as a state possessing nuclear weapons, a spokesman for the
country's foreign ministry said on Monday in an interview with North Korea'
s official Central News Agency.
"We are well satisfied that our country is capable to protect its
sovereignty and security by means of its own nuclear weapons," the
diplomat said.
Before withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty over the
United States' provocative policy, North Korea had never breached its
provisions, he noted, adding that "forty years since the NPT treaty came
into force the world has not eliminated this destructive weapons,
moreover, it has been building up nuclear stockpiles."
North Korea believes that a new world treaty instead of the NTP treaty
is needed to get rid of nuclear arms, he said, noting that the New York
NTP review conference had tackled issues of North Korea's nuclear program.
"However, we are not concerned over it, since North Korea is no longer a
party to the NTP treaty and has a sovereign right to build up its nuclear
deterrent weapons to protect its state interests," he stressed.
-0-ras/gor


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