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N Korea 'to conduct nuclear test' N Korea 'to conduct nuclear test'
(30 minutes later)
North Korea is to conduct a nuclear test, the foreign ministry has said in a statement. North Korea is to conduct a nuclear test to "bolster" its self-defence in the face of US military hostility, the foreign ministry has said.
The move would "bolster" the country's self-defence in the face of US military hostility, North Korea's official KCNA said. In a statement, it said North Korea would carry out the test "in the future... where safety is firmly guaranteed" - but did not say when.
"[North Korea] will in the future conduct a nuclear test under the condition where safety is firmly guaranteed," the ministry said. North Korea has come under mounting pressure over its nuclear programme.
Pyongyang has come under mounting pressure over its nuclear programme. Six-nation talks have stalled and the UN has condemned North Korea for missile tests launched in July.
Six-nation talks on its plans have been stalled for nearly a year, and the US has imposed financial sanctions on North Korean businesses.
North Korea is believed to have a handful of nuclear warheads but is not known to have tested one.North Korea is believed to have a handful of nuclear warheads but is not known to have tested one.
'Grave situation''Grave situation'
The statement from Pyongyang said "the US daily increasing threat of a nuclear war and its vicious sanctions and pressure have caused a grave situation on the Korean Peninsula". The statement from Pyongyang said North Korea would "in future conduct a nuclear test under the condition where safety is firmly guaranteed".
The ministry went on to say that "under the present situation" in which the US moves to isolate and stifle" North Korea, the country "can no longer remain an on-looker to the developments." It accused the US of causing a "grave situation ... in which the supreme interests and security of our State are seriously infringed upon and the Korean nation stands at the crossroads of life and death".
It went on to say "the US extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel [North Korea] to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent".
It added that the country would "never use nuclear weapons first but strictly prohibit any threat of nuclear weapons and transfer".
And it said that North Korea "will always sincerely implement its international commitment in the field of nuclear non-proliferation as a responsible nuclear weapons state".