NKorea renews vow to bolster nuclear deterrent

SEOUL: North Korea on Sunday renewed its pledge to bolster its nuclear deterrent by reactivating its atomic programme in protest at UN condemnation of its recent rocket launch. Rodong Sinmun newspaper, published by the North's ruling party, called the communist state's move "an exercise of the legitimate right of the sovereign state" against what it calls unjust UN actions. "Nobody is entitled to take issue with the DPRK's resolute measures to reconstruct its nuclear facilities to their original state and reprocess the spent fuel rods," it said, referring to the North's official name of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "In order not to let the disgraceful history... repeat itself, the DPRK will further bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defence and mercilessly punish on behalf of the nation the gang daring challenge it."North Korea Wednesday threatened to conduct a second nuclear test and ballistic missile tests unless the UN apologises for condemning and punishing its April 5 rocket launch. Pyongyang said it put a peaceful satellite into orbit, but the United States, South Korea and Japan said it staged a disguised missile test.The UN Security Council on April 13 slapped sanctions on North Korea, banning transactions and calling on UN member-states to freeze the assets of three business entities of Pyongyang. In protest, the North said on April 18 it had started reprocessing spent fuel rods at its Yongbyon complex to make weapons-grade plutonium. The North had already responded to the UN criticism by announcing it was quitting a six-nation nuclear disarmament pact with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia. Analysts say the North's culminating threat to conduct a second nuclear test, following its first in October 2006, is aimed at forcing the US to open direct negotiations.