‘North Korea will not quit nuclear programme under US threat’

July 27th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea left the door open for possible dialogue about its nuclear programme in a statement Monday, despite its withdrawal from six-party talks aimed at ending its efforts to become a nuclear power. "There is a specific and reserved form of dialogue that can address the current situation," said a statement from the North Korean Foreign Ministry published in the state media.

June 17th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Wednesday renewed its threats of military strikes against the US and its allies in case the Stalinist state felt provoked. "If the US and its followers infringe upon our republic's sovereignty even a bit, our military and people will launch a 100 or 1,000-fold retaliation with merciless military strikes," a commentary in the state-run Minju Choson newspaper said.

June 9th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea stepped up threats over its controversial nuclear weapons programme Tuesday, saying it would use the missiles if provoked. In a commentary released by the state-run Minju Choson newspaper, North Korea raised tensions again in what is widely regarded as an attempt to stave off international punishment for its May 25 nuclear test.

May 8th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea stepped up its attacks against Washington Friday as a senior US envoy was due to arrive in South Korea for talks and vowed to expand its nuclear deterrent. Pyongyang's foreign ministry accused US President Barack Obama of pursuing a 'hostile' policy against the Stalinist state, accusations also levelled against Obama's predecessor George W.

May 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - North Korea may fulfill a vow to conduct another nuclear test, analysts say. According to them, Pyongyang is elevating the nuclear threat level to new extremes.

April 30th, 2009 Clinton: North Korean return to talks implausibleWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says it is "implausible, if not impossible" that North Korea will return to international talks on ending its nuclear ambitions. Clinton's pessimistic response came during a Senate hearing Thursday as she was asked why the Obama administration is requesting money for aid to North Korea.

April 29th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Wednesday warned that it would conduct another nuclear test if the UN Security Council refused to apologise for criticising the Stalinist state's April 5 rocket launch. 'Unless the UN Security Council offers an apology immediately, we will be forced to take additional self-defence measures to protect the highest interests of our republic,' a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement cited by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

April 25th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea said Saturday it has again started to reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods to produce weapons-grade plutonium. 'The reprocessing of spent fuel rods from the pilot atomic power plant began as declared in the Foreign Ministry statement dated April 14,' the state-run Korean Central News Agency cited a foreign ministry spokesman, who referred to work at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facility.

April 20th, 2009 UN says NKorea could restart nuclear facilityBEIJING — The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says North Korea could restart its nuclear facility within months, but that he hopes negotiations on halting Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions can be revived. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El-Baradei said Monday "it could be a question of months" when asked how soon North Korea could restart its nuclear facility.

April 15th, 2009 VIENNA - North Korea informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Tuesday that it would stop all cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog immediately, IAEA spokesman Marc Vidricaire said. IAEA inspectors are present in North Korea to monitor that the country's nuclear installations remain dismantled and turned off.

April 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - North Korea has taken a step towards further isolation by ending its cooperation with UN and US nuclear inspectors and requesting them to leave the country, the US State Department said Wednesday. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the US team in North Korea to verify the disablement of the Stalinist country's nuclear programme was making plans to leave at Pyongyang's request.

April 15th, 2009 VIENNA - North Korea told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Tuesday to stop monitoring its nuclear facilities and asked the agency's inspectors to leave the country as it wants to restart its nuclear programme, IAEA spokesman Marc Vidricaire said in Vienna. 'The inspectors have also been asked to leave the DPRK at the earliest possible time,' Vidricaire said, referring to the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

April 14th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia Tuesday said it regretted the decision by North Korea to restart its nuclear programme and urged the reclusive state to return to talks. 'We can only express our regret at the decision of North Korea and urge it not to halt six-party talks on the nuclear problem in the Korean Peninsula,' a foreign ministry official said.

April 14th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Tuesday announced that it wants to quit international negotiations on ending its nuclear weapons programme. The Six-Party Talks were 'no longer necessary', the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

December 23rd, 2008 WASHINGTON - The US plans to deliver another 21,000 tonnes of food to North Korea in the near future, the US State Department has said. The food shipments are continuing despite the impasse in talks over dismantling North Korea's nuclear programme.