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SEOUL: North Korea's pledge to carry out a nuclear test is not an empty threat, and the test is “unavoidable” unless the United States adopts a more conciliatory stance, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper said Thursday.
Chosun Sinbo, published by ethnic Koreans in Japan and seen here, said the North's statement that it would be compelled to carry out a test at an unspecified date was serious.
“The DPRK (North Korea) statement on a nuclear test is not empty talk but clearly premised on action,” the newspaper said in a dispatch from Pyongyang, according to its Korean-language website.
“Given that the DPRK declared in February last year it possessed nuclear weapons, a nuclear test by the DPRK is an unavoidable step in development.”
Chosun Sinbo said Pyongyang was following a master plan to bolster its nuclear deterrent.
“Unless the US attitude changes, the established schedules for the DPRK to strengthen its nuclear deterrence would be implemented without modifications,” it said.
Seoul's defense minister told parliament Wednesday the government assumes the North is likely to make good on its threat.
An unnamed US intelligence official also said unusual movement had been detected at one of several suspected test sites in North Korea.
The North's October 3 statement sparked alarm worldwide.
The United States, which has long been in a standoff with North Korea over its nuclear weapons ambitions, directly warned Pyongyang it would pay a price if it goes ahead with the test.
The UN Security Council is also in talks to agree on a firm response to the threat.
Six-way talks aimed at scrapping North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled since November, as the communist state boycotts the negotiations in protest at US financial sanctions.
