North Korea Ambassador: We’re Not Afraid Of U.S.; Nuclear Test Looming; 4th American Citizen Detained

North Korea is not afraid of U.S. military power and has plans to go ahead with another nuclear test, its new ambassador to the United Kingdom says.

“If we were afraid of it, we probably would not have started conducting nuclear tests or launching ballistic missiles,” North Korea’s new ambassador to the U.K, Choe Il, told Sky News.

“The U.S. cannot attack us first,” Choe said. “If the U.S. moves an inch, then we are ready to turn to ashes any available strategic assets of the U.S.”

Choe did not say when North Korea would conduct a sixth nuclear weapons test. The country has conducted five nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions.

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“In regards to the sixth nuclear test, I do not know the scheduled time for it, as I am here in the U.K., not in my home country,” Choe said. “However, I can say that the nuclear test will be conducted at the place and time as decided by our supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un.”

‘Sanctions Do Not Have Any Legal Grounds’

Choe also made clear that his nation rejects the authority and legality of the United Nations Security Council, which has imposed sanctions on North Korea.

“The U.N. Security Council has been sanctioning against us whenever we launch missiles or satellites and carry out nuclear tests,” Choe said. “As the sanctions do not have any legal grounds, we do not care about them, nor accept them.”

North Korea will not halt its nuclear program until it develops working nuclear missiles, Choe said.

“We have to have nuclear power,” Choe said. “We have shown our strong military power and nuclear power this April. Because of our strong military power, the U.S. could not attack us first.”

North Korea Detains U.S. Citizens

Meanwhile, North Korea is arresting and detaining U.S. citizens in an attempt to force the U.S. and China to the bargaining table, NPR reported.

Kim Hak Song, an American citizen and a professor at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), was arrested on charges of hostile acts against the state on May 6. PUST is a private university in North Korea; another American who worked at the school, Kim Sang Duk, was arrested in April on charges of trying to overthrow the government. It now is holding four U.S. citizens against their will.

The arrests might be an attempt to get a high-level U.S. official to come to Pyongyang to negotiate with Kim Jong-Un.

“In the past, Pyongyang has demanded that Washington send high-level envoys to obtain the release of U.S. citizens detained in North Korea,” NPR wrote.

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