The weeklong event is to begin October 20 in Mount Kumkang, North Korea’s famous resort.
“If the United States does not withdraw its armed forces from South Korea and continues to wage provocative military actions against the DPRK (North Korea), it may lead to another incident of unknown origin that could trigger an armed conflict, for which the United States will be held fully and seriously accountable”, it said.
“The North always wants the attention of the global community and knows that flagging its weapons programmes is one way to get it”, Koh said.
It is thought to have a small arsenal of atomic bombs and an impressive array of short- and medium-range missiles.
Pyongyang claims it has made a device small enough to fit a nuclear warhead on to a missile, which it could launch at its enemies. He believes the North understands this and has decided it must have nuclear weapons. And they could harm recent attempts to improve relations between North and South Korea.
“It should focus instead on fulfilling its global obligations and commitments”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a regular news briefing, referring to past North Korean pledges to denuclearize. As a result, just what is happening at Nyongbyon is unclear. North Korea has since carried out several nuclear and missile tests. The country had been working to restart the Yongbyon reactor since 2013.
Imagery analysis produced by experts since 2013 notes that characteristic signs of an operational reactor, including steam and hot water discharge, have not always been visible.
The North’s last firing of a long-range rocket took place in December 2012, when it successfully put an object into orbit.
On Monday the government said it would launch a series of weather observation satellites to mark the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea next month. The United States and its allies consider them covers for banned tests of long-range missiles.
First, “the confidence reflects most likely advancements in their capabilities”, after years of sometimes humiliating failures to develop advanced missile technology.
But some North Korea watchers have questioned whether the reactor is operating at full power.
Analysts in Seoul, meanwhile, said North Korea’s announcements suggest an imminent nuclear test, although that is far from clear at this point.
Tuesday’s statement from the Atomic Energy Institute came within hours of another remarkably similar statement from the director of North Korea’s National Aerospace and Defence Administration, outlining the achievements of the country’s scientists and its intention to exercise its “right” to launch satellites at a time of its choosing. But strong doubts remain over whether it has the missile technology to target the USA mainland.
However, these assessments rely upon very limited information – an unavoidable weakness when using open sources to analyse North Korea’s nuclear development. Ri attended the conference previous year and argued that Pyongyang has no choice but to pursue nuclear programs as a deterrent against US hostility.
The state-run news agency KCNA said North Korea was improving its nuclear weapons “in quality and quantity”.
“We hope the relevant parties, under the current circumstances, can do more that is beneficial to safeguarding the peace and stability of the region and the peninsula”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.
Before a thaw, the two Koreas had threatened each other with war in August in the wake of mine explosions blamed on the North that maimed two South Korean soldiers earlier that month.
If the launches ever happen, South Korea, Washington and other neighboring countries will immediately step forward in an worldwide standoff.