Asia-Pacific

DPRK: Peaceful use of nuclear power legitimate right

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-29 17:24

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had "the legitimate right" to develop its nuclear capability for peaceful purposes, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said Wednesday.

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The paper said in a commentary the construction of light-water reactors was "a natural option in the light of the legitimate right to nuclear activities for peaceful purposes, the worldwide trend of developing nuclear energy and the country's daily increasing demand for electricity."

It blamed the United States for "contemplating stronger pressure and sanctions against the DPRK" and for failing to abide by the 1994 agreement on the construction of light-water reactors in the DPRK.

"Had the US kept the above-said promise, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula would not have remained so complicated as now," it said.

The commentary said the country was "making brisk headway" in the construction of light-water reactors by operating "thousands" of centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant.

US special envoy Steven Bosworth expressed disappointment at the DPRK's uranium enrichment activities last month, calling it "a kind of provocation."