North Korea threatens America

Kim Jong-un threatened to attack the United States with nuclear weapons.

data-mce-style="margin: 0; padding: 0; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; word-wrap: break-word;" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; word-wrap: break-word;">LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (Catholic Online) - The director of North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute claims they are ready to counter hostility with "nuclear weapons at any time."

He claims scientists have been making "innovations day by day" to "guarantee the reliability of the nuclear deterrent ... as required by the prevailing situation. In the meantime, the US anachronistic hostile policy toward the DPRK that forced it to have access to the nuclear weapons has remained utterly unchanged and instead it has become all the more undisguised and vicious with the adaption of means openly seeking the downfall of the latter's social system."

The declaration came the day after Pyongyang announced it was ready to launch satellites aboard long-range rockets, marking a key national anniversary next month.

An unnamed National Aerospace Development Administration director said the North has been advancing with "shining achievements; in the space development field ... pushing forward on a final development phase for a new earth observation satellite for weather forecasts."

He claimed "space development for peaceful purposes is a sovereign state's legitimate right ... and the people of (North Korea) are fully determined to exercise this right no matter what others say about it."

If the launches ever happen, South Korea, Washington and other neighboring countries will immediately step forward in an international standoff. Past launches from North Korea were disguised tests of their long-range missile technology and were condemned by neighboring countries as well as America.

When North Korea put its first satellite into space in late 2012, the UN announced it was a banned test of ballistic missile technology and immediately imposed sanctions.

North Korea then conducted a nuclear test in February 2013 and was shut down by international condemnation and sanctions.

Intelligence agencies believe North Korea is attempting to miniaturize its nuclear weapon to a size suitable to be mounted on a rocket.

North Korea keeps insisting its space program is peaceful and that they only want to launch earth observation satellites but if they instead launch multi-stage rockets, they could be used as a nuclear weapon delivery system.

North Korea's announcement cast further doubts on the country's attempt to ease animosity between themselves and their Southern brothers by allowing families to reunite next month.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'