New York – North Korea’s deputy UN ambassador warned on Monday that a “nuclear war may break out at any moment” on the Korean peninsula, blaming the US for its “dangerous sabre-rattling.”
Envoy Kim In Ryong told reporters that Washington was “hell-bent on dangerous sabre-rattling” on the Korean peninsula with its military presence, was threatening peace and security and pushing the situation “to the brink of a war.”
Earlier Monday in Seoul, US Vice President Mike Pence said Pyongyang should not test President Donald Trump’s resolve nor the strength of the US armed forces in the region.
“We’ll defeat any attack and we will meet any use of conventional and nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective response,” Pence said after a meeting Hwang Kyo Ahn, South Korea’s acting president.
Referring to recent US airstrikes in Syria, Kim said the US was using “gangster-like logic” and “disturbing global peace.”
The UN has passed resolutions banning North Korea from launching ballistic missiles.
Kim said North Korea was entitled to a nuclear deterrent for its own self-defence interests.
He also said his country had rejected a UN Security Council briefing on North Korea planned for April 28, which US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to attend.
He added that the US “usurped” the UN Security Council when US Ambassador Nikki Haley took on the rotating presidency for the month of April.
-dpa
