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N. Korea says nuclear bombs are for self-defense against US, not to attack South

February 5, 2016

This Rodong Sinmun photo released on June 30, 2014, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observing a tactical rocket firing drill of the North’s Strategic Force at an unidentified place. (Yonhap, file)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — North Korea said Friday it has never threatened to attack South Korea with its nuclear weapons, claiming that its possession of nuclear bombs is for self-defense against the United States.

The North has called on the U.S. to abandon its hostile policy toward North Korea, saying that its four nuclear tests were an act of deterrence against what it calls Washington’s attempt at nuclear attacks.

“The reason why we’ve had the nuclear deterrence is not for dropping nuclear bombs on people in the South,” the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s main newspaper, said in a commentary. “Our nuclear weapons program is aimed at crushing Washington’s bid to stage a nuclear war and securing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”

North Korea’s latest nuclear test on Jan. 6 has startled the world, prompting the United Nations Security Council to work on a fresh resolution for sanctions against the North.

The North has informed U.N. agencies that it will launch a satellite sometime between Feb. 8 and 25, widely seen as a covert test of ballistic missile technology. North Korea is banned from developing ballistic missiles under a series of U.N. sanctions.

North Korea said last month that it is ready to detonate hydrogen bombs capable of wiping out the U.S “all at once,” insisting that it has succeeded in developing miniaturized nuclear weapons.