N.K. threatens boycott of six-party talks if U.N. sanctions rocket launch

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, UPDATES from 4th para with details)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, March 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea warned Tuesday it will boycott the
six-party nuclear talks if the United Nations imposes sanctions over its rocket
launch, saying such punitive measures violate a multilateral agreement on mutual
respect.
"If such a hostile activity is carried out under the name of the U.N. Security
Council, that would be a breach of the Sept. 19 joint statement by the U.N.
Security Council itself," the North's Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a
statement, referring to a 2005 accord reached at the six-party talks. The talks
involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.
South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have been threatening U.N. sanctions if North
Korea goes through with its launch, scheduled between April 4-8, citing a
Security Council resolution adopted in 2006 that bans Pyongyang from engaging in
any missile-related activities.
"Space development and its peaceful use are legitimate rights that every nation
on earth is equally entitled to," an unnamed ministry spokesman said.
The spokesman rejected the argument opposing the North's rocket launch, that
technologies used for shooting a satellite and a missile are indistinguishable.
The U.S. and Japan have already put their own satellites into orbit, meaning they
have more advanced missile technology, the spokesman noted.
Such an argument, the spokesman said, is tantamount to "thieves' logic."
"There is no authority to interfere with the independent right of sovereign
nations with regard to peaceful space development and space use," the spokesman
said.
North Korea has warned that any foreign attempt to shoot down its
Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite will lead to a war on the Korean Peninsula.
The six-party talks have been stalled since the latest round broke down in
December due to a dispute over how to verify North Korea's past nuclear activity.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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