N Korea to Depend on US in Any Further Nuclear Test

Local Editor

North Korea's foreign minister said Tuesday that any decision to stage a further nuclear test would depend on the United States, as he held Washington responsible for spoiling denuclearization efforts on the Korean peninsula.

"Whether we conduct additional nuclear tests is entirely up to the United States," Ri Yong-Ho told reporters on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] meeting in Laos.

His comments came just hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was attending the same forum in Vientiane, warned of "real consequences" if Pyongyang pushes ahead with nuclear and missile tests.

The newly appointed Ri, who was making his overseas debut as the North's top diplomat, blamed the United States for the failure of the long-dormant six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.

"The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula went out of the window because of the United States," he said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team