North Korea leaves "useless" nuclear talks
North Korea to leave six-party nuclear disarmament talks after security council condemns April 5th 'missile' launch
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Tuesday, 14, Apr 2009 05:55
North Korea says it will resume work at a plant that makes weapons-grade plutonium after vowing to boycott six-party nuclear disarmament talks.
Pyongyang said it was leaving the "useless" negotiations after the United Nations security council finally agreed on a joint statement condemning the launch of what the west claims was a rocket on April 5th.
The north insists the date saw a communications satellite broadcasting patriotic songs successfully put into orbit, but Japan says the launch was a cover for test-firing of a long-range missile capable of hitting Alaska.
After the security council also called for a tightening of sanctions, North Korea said it "strongly [rejected]" the statement and said it would take no further part in the six-party talks also involving China, the US, Russia, Japan and South Korea.
"There is no need for the six-party [nuclear disarmament] talks any more," the north's foreign ministry was quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency as saying.
"We will never again take part in such talks and will not be bound by any agreement reached at the talks."