N. Korea says its nuclear program not subject to negotiation

SEOUL, June 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media said Sunday its nuclear weapons program is not subject to negotiation, vowing to continue developing its defensive capabilities.

Pyongyang's official newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial that South Korea and the United States should give up attempts to make the North abandon its nuclear weapons.

"We should make every effort to strengthen our national defense with the nuclear capability as the backbone," it said. "Our self-defensive nuclear deterrent force is never subject to any kind of negotiations."

"If South Korea truly wants to improve the Korean ties and seek peace, it should stop picking on our nuclear deterrent force and stand against the U.S.'s plot for first nuclear strike on the North," it said.

North Korea has long claimed that its development of nuclear weapons is a deterrent against what it calls Washington's hostile policy toward it.
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