North Korea said Friday it had no choice but to “completely review” the nuclear issue after accusing the United States and South Korea over a plot to blow up a statue of its founding leader.
“Various circumstances compel us to completely review the nuclear issue,” the North’s foreign ministry said in a statement released through the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The plot amounted to a “war action” and ran counter to a deal under which Pyongyang agreed to dismantle its nuclear programme in return for economic and diplomatic benefits and security guarantees, it said.
The statement did not elaborate on what was meant by the review. But it will add to concerns Pyongyang is planning to conduct a third nuclear test following its failed rocket launch in April — although last month the North said it had no plans “at present” to conduct such a test.
The threat came after South Korea confirmed a man who was arrested in the North after allegedly attempting to blow up a statue of founding father Kim Il-Sung, was a former defector who had settled in the South.
Pyongyang claimed South Korean intelligence authorities had hired him to carry out the plot and that Washington was actively involved.
New leader Kim Jong-Un was this week named Marshal of North Korea amid a reshuffle of senior figures seen as a means of cementing his grip over the 1.2-million-strong military.
North Korea to ‘completely review’ nuclear issue
