N. Korea says it will never abandon nuclear weapons program

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By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Saturday it will "never" give up its
nuclear arms programs, vowing to start enriching uranium and weaponizing all new
plutonium it extracts.

Slamming the U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned its May 25 nuclear
test and expanded sanctions on it, the communist state also said it will consider
any outside attempt to impose a "blockade" on it as an act of war, vowing to
respond with military action.
"Giving up nuclear weapons has now become something that is never feasible," the
North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean
Central News Agency.
In response to Resolution 1874 passed unanimously by the 15-member U.N. Security
Council earlier Saturday, the North said it will "weaponize all new plutonium to
be extracted," adding that one third of its spent fuel rods have already been
reprocessed.
Fuel rods are reprocessed to produce the plutonium needed to build nuclear bombs.
North Korea reported last year. South Korea believes the communist neighbor could
have up to 40 kilograms.
"We will embark on uranium enrichment," the North Korean statement said,
disclosing that Pyongyang has made "progress" in developing related technology
and is conducting experimentation on it.
The U.N. Security Council resolution calls on member states to conduct
inspections of North Korean ships suspected of carrying materials related to
nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
North Korea, which says such inspections amount to an attempt to smother its
regime, said it will "respond militarily if the U.S. and its followers try to
impose a blockade."
"It will be considered an act of war," the country said, calling its latest
nuclear test a self-defensive measure.
North Korea conducted its first test in October 2006, triggering U.N. Resolution
1718 which imposed an arms and trade embargo.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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