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S. Korean president denounces DPRK's "reckless" adherence to nuke program

Xinhua, September 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday denounced the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear ambitions, describing it as "reckless and fanatic" adherence.

Park made the remarks when she held talks with the leaders of three major political parties to discuss how to address the DPRK's Sept. 9 nuclear test, according to Park's office. The meeting was held in the presidential office for about two hours.

The South Korean leader said the DPRK's fifth nuclear test was conducted during her series of trips to China, Russia and Laos where Park said she confirmed the international community's unified determination not to accept the DPRK as a nuclear state.

Pyongyang said on Friday that it successfully carried out an explosion test of nuclear warhead that can be mounted on ballistic missiles.

Park cut short her visit to Laos following the DPRK's fifth nuclear device test that happened just eight months after the fourth test in January.

"It clearly shows once again how reckless the North Korean (DPRK) regime is and how fanatically it adheres to a nuclear program," Park said, referring to the fifth test as a totally different pattern from previous tests that had been carried out every three years or so.

Pyongyang's first nuclear test was conducted in October 2006, followed by the second in May 2009 and the third in February 2013. The explosive yield has risen from 0.4 kiloton in the first test to 6 kilotons in the fourth and 10 kilotons in the fifth.

Park said South Korea is seeking to adopt stronger sanctions against the DPRK rapidly in cooperation with the international community.

In March, the UN Security Council introduced tougher-than-ever sanctions on Pyongyang over its fourth nuclear detonation in January and the launch in February of a long-range rocket. The DPRK is banned from any test of nuclear and ballistic missile technologies under UN Security Council resolutions.

Citing Pyongyang's claim that it successfully miniaturized nuclear warheads small enough to fit on ballistic missiles, Park said the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs are not a simple blackmail but an urgent, realistic threat targeting South Korea.

The DPRK has said it will continue to develop its nuclear capability despite increasing condemnation by the international community. Endit