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It was a rare declaration by the powerful commission once led by late leader Kim Jong Il and now commanded by his son. The statement made clear Kim Jong Uns commitment to continue developing the countrys nuclear and missile programs in defiance of the Security Council, even at risk of further international isolation.
The National Defense Commission, headed by the countrys young leader, Kim Jong Un, denounced Tuesdays U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Koreas long-range rocket launch in December as a banned missile activity and expanding sanctions against the regime. The commission reaffirmed in its declaration that the launch was a peaceful bid to send a satellite into space, but also clearly indicated the countrys rocket launches have a military purpose: to strike and attack the United States.
FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2012 file image made from video, North Koreas Unha-3 rocket lifts off from the Sohae launching station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. North Koreas top governing body warned Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 that the regime will conduct its third nuclear test in defiance of U.N. punishment, and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States. (AP Photo/KRT via AP Video,Alternation In Job Profiles Current Scenario. File)
U.S. envoy to North Korea Glyn Davies speaks after meeting with South Koreas nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam, unseen, at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The North Korean military commission led by leader Kim Jong Un warned Thursday that the regime is poised to conduct a nuclear test in defiance of U.N. punishment, and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The U.S. State Department had no immediate response to Thursdays statement. Shortly before the commission issued its declaration, U.S. envoy on North Korea Glyn Davies urged Pyongyang not to explode an atomic device.
North Koreas allusion to a higher level nuclear test most likely refers to a device made from highly enriched uranium, which is easier to miniaturize than the plutonium bombs it tested in 2006 and 2009, said Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. Experts say the North Koreans must conduct further tests of its atomic devices and master the technique for them smaller before they can be mounted as nuclear warheads onto long-range missiles.
The commission pledged to keep launching satellites and rockets and to conduct a nuclear test as part of a new phase of combat with the United States, which it blames for leading the U.N. bid to punish Pyongyang. It said a nuclear test was part of upcoming action but did not say exactly when or where it would take place.
FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2012 file image made from video, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at a banquet for rocket scientists in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreas top governing body warned Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 that the regime will conduct its third nuclear test in defiance of U.N. puNKorea warns of nuke test more rocket launches satellite tv providersnishment, and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States. The National Defense Commission, headed by the countrys young leader, rejected Tuesdays U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Koreas long-range rocket launch in December as a banned missile activity and expanding sanctions against the regime. (AP Photo/KRT via AP Video, File) NORTH KOREA OUT AP
U.S. envoy to North Korea Glyn Davies, right, speaks after meeting with South Koreas nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The North Korean military commission led by leader Kim Jong Un warned Thursday that the regime is poised to conduct a nuclear test in defiance of U.N. punishment, adult education and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
North Koreas top governing body warned Thursday that the regime will conduct its third nuclear test in defiance of U.N. punishment, and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States.
Whether North Korea tests or not,Selecting The Very Best Hotel Management Institute. its up to North Korea. We hope they dont do it. We call on them not to do it, he told reporters in Seoul after meeting with South Korean officials. It will be a mistake and a missed opportunity if they were to do it.
A banner showing starving North Korean children and a rocket is displayed on a street in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. North Koreas top military body warned Thursday that the regime is poised to conduct a nuclear test in response to U.N. punishment, and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States. The writing reads Fired North Korean rocket for whom? (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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People watch TV showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 23,Sandwich aneurisma Support Groups. 2013. North Korea swiftly lashed out against the U.N. Security Councils condemnation of its December launch of a long-range rocket, saying Wednesday that it will strengthen its military defenses - including its nuclear weaponry - in response.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the upcoming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people, the commission said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.
Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words, as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival, the commission said.