N. Korea Threatens to `Bolster Nuclear Deterrent`

North Korea yesterday said it will bolster its nuclear deterrent since the United States has not changed its hostile policy toward the North.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “We have closely watched the policies of the Obama administration for the past 100 days since its inauguration. Now, it is clear that the hostile U.S. policy toward us has not changed at all. As previously stated, we will bolster our nuclear deterrent.”

Answering a question from a journalist on the North`s state-run Korea Central News Agency, the spokesman said, “U.S. President Barack Obama argued that we should be punished for our rocket launch, while describing the peaceful satellite launch as acts of defiance and provocation. Also, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has labeled our regime a despotic or rouge government like her predecessors.”

“The essence of the U.S. government’s hostile policy toward us is its attempt to destroy the thoughts and system adopted by our people. We cannot gain anything even if we sit face to face with a nation that has continuously taken a hostile attitude toward us.”

kyle@donga.com