DPRK warns of 'more gift packages' for US

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is ready to send "more gift packages" to the United States, one of its top diplomats said on Tuesday, dismissing the wide condemnation by the international community over his country's latest and biggest nuclear weapons test.

Han Tae-song, ambassador of the DPRK to the United Nations in Geneva, was addressing the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament two days after Pyongyang detonated its sixth nuclear test.

"I am proud of saying that just two days ago on the third of September, DPRK successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test for intercontinental ballistic rocket under its plan for building a strategic nuclear force," Han told the Geneva forum.

"The recent self-defense measures by my country, DPRK, are a 'gift package' addressed to none other than the US," Han said.

"The US will receive more 'gift packages' from my country as long as it relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK," he added without elaborating.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday once again condemned the latest nuclear missile tests by the DPRK, saying they are "profoundly destabilizing regional and international security."

Guterres reiterated that the solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue must be "political", stressing that "the potential consequences of military action are too horrific".

"Let us promote the dialogue and the communication necessary to avoid miscalculation and misunderstanding," he said, adding that confrontation "may lead to unintended consequences."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday voiced opposition to tougher sanctions against the DPRK after Pyongyang conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

"Resorting to just any sanctions in this situation is useless and inefficient," Putin told reporters after attending a summit of BRICS countries in the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen.

"All of this can lead to a global planetary catastrophe and a great number of victims," he warned.

Putin called on relevant parties to return to the negotiation table.

"It is necessary to push the issue to a dialogue between all interested parties. All participants in this process, including North Korea (the DPRK), should not have any of these considerations that are associated with the threat of destruction, but, on the contrary, all parties to the conflict should get on the path of cooperation," Putin said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday that Russia resolutely opposes the escalation of military tension in Northeast Asia. He made the remarks during a phone conversation with Tillerson.

According to a foreign ministry statement, Lavrov said any choice should be made in favor of political and diplomatic means to find peaceful solutions.

While the United States and its allies are preparing a draft resolution on Pyongyang for the United Nations Security Council to vote, Lavrov said Russia is ready to consider the document if it reflects the position above.

Xinhua - Reuters

(China Daily USA 09/06/2017 page1)