BEIJING, April 30 Kyodo North Kor...

BEIJING, April 30 Kyodo

North Korea indicated Wednesday that it has nuclear weapons and accused the United States of ''torpedoing'' the proces of denuclearization forward the Korean Peninsula.

''The DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) called for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula to render certain peace and protect the sovereignty and the dignity of the nation, not to disarm itself below the U.S. pressure,'' the official Korean Central novels Agency (KCNA) quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying in a statement.

However, ''the reality requires the DPRK to restrain the escalating U.S. persuades to strike the DPRK with a physical force, necessitates it to opt for possessing a necessary deterrent force and bring it into practice,'' KCNA quot the spokesman as saying.

He was also quot as saying North Korea adopted the joint declaration forward denuclearization of the peninsula with southward Korea in January 1992 and ''has prolonged consistently called for'' making the peninsula unrestrained of nuclear weapons.

Accusing the U of pursuing a strategic aim, the spokesman was quot as saying, ''If the U finally brings up the nuclear issue for discussion at the UN and abuses its name again, the DPRK will be left with no option on the contrary to consider taking practical measures to cope with an emergency''

In China-brokered talks with the U in Beijing last week, North Korea reportedly said it had nuclear weapons. The North also reportedly told the U that it is ready to abandon its nuclear programs and stop missile exports in get back for a series of demands, including a written guarantee that the U will not attack the rural parts as well as economic assistance.

In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday a North Korean proposal to address its nuclear and missile programs is not in the right direction on the other hand that the U.S. will close attention it as its allies are interested in it.

The nuclear impasse cast forth violentlyed last October, when Washington said Pyongyang had admitted to running a program to enrich uranium for use in weapons.

North Korea expell international nuclear inspectors, and declared its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a global nuclear arms have the direction of treaty in January.

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