North Korea Withdraws From NPT
10 Jan 2003
North Korea declared its immediate withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Pyongyang's official (North) Korean Central News Agency said Friday.
"The government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in a statement today declared its withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and its total freedom from the binding force of the safeguards accord with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," KCNA said.
North Korea also rejected a resolution by the IAEA this week when the UN nuclear watchdog ordered Pyongyang to readmit its inspectors who were expelled on New Year's Eve.
"In the statement, the DPRK government vehemently rejected the January 6 'resolution' of the IAEA, considering it as a grave encroachment upon the sovereignty of the DPRK and the dignity of the (North) Korean nation.
"As it has become clear once again that the US persistently seeks to stifle the DPRK at any cost and the IAEA is used as a tool for executing the US hostile policy towards the DPRK, we can no longer remain bound to the NPT, allowing the country's security and the dignity of our nation to be infringed upon."
But the North also pledged that despite its latest moves, it had no intention of producing nuclear weapons.
"Though we pull out of the NPT, we have no intention to produce nuclear weapons and our nuclear activities at this stage will be confined only to peaceful purposes such as the production of electricity."
North Korea said it was acting as the state's interests were "seriously threatened."
"Under the grave situation where our state's supreme interests are most seriously threatened, the DPRK government adopts the following decisions.
Source : www.korea.net
