Sept. 27 - North Korea rejected further talks on its nuclear program and blamed the breakdown in negotiations directly on the United States, claiming that Washington wants to rule the world.

 

North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon said in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly that U.S. financial sanctions, imposed shortly after a joint statement was issued at six-nation talks on its nuclear program on September 19, 2005, had convinced Pyongyang that the negotiations were not worth pursuing.

 

"It is quite preposterous that the DPRK, under the groundless U.S. sanctions, takes part in the talks on discussing its own nuclear abandonment," Choe said. He said it was a matter of principle "that cannot tolerate even the slightest concession."

 

In a speech at the UN, Choe claimed North Korea has developed nuclear weapons as a deterrent solely for self-defense against pre-emptive strikes by the United States and was eager, in principle, to hold talks, but that Washington's "vicious, hostile policy" made negotiations unacceptable.

 

Washington has denied it has any plans to attack North Korea.

 

Pyongyang has boycotted the six-party talks, involving China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the U.S., insisting it will not return unless Washington drops financial sanctions. The U.S. has said North Korea shouldn't link the financial issue to the nuclear talks.

 

Washington has seen increasing need to resume the talks since North Korea test-fired a series of missiles in July. Reports also have suggested that Pyongyang might conduct a nuclear test which will further escalate the current tensions.

 

North Korea said that it has nuclear bombs, but the claim has not been independently verified. Many experts believe the North has enough radioactive material to build at least a half-dozen or more nuclear weapons.

 

Choe also blamed aggravated tensions on the Korean peninsula on the U.S. military presence in South Korea, what he called a U.S. doctrine of a pre-emptive nuclear strike against it."

 

It is crystal clear that the U.S. is not in favor of the six-party talks and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Choe said, referring to President Bush's characterization of the North as part of an "axis of evil."

 

"If there is anything that the United States is in favor of, that is the aggravated tension on the Korean peninsula to be used as a pretext for reinforcing its military forces in the Northeast Asian region... within its world supremacy strategy."