N. KOREA WARNS U.S. OF NUCLEAR TESTING

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North Korea imposed a year-end deadline last year pressuring the U.S. to make concessions in nuclear talks, or else it would seek a "new path." That deadline has passed and the regime has commented on its "new path" for the first time at a global conference. Pyongyang said Washington has ignored the deadline and therefore, the regime will no longer adhere to its moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile testing.

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"If the United States tries to enforce unilateral demands and persists in imposing sanctions, North Korea may be compelled to seek a new path to defend its sovereignty." This remark was made by Ju Yong-chol, a counselor at North Korea's mission to the UN in Geneva, who was speaking at the UN Conference on Disarmament held in the Swiss city on Tuesday. Ju first stressed that over the past two years, his country had refrained from nuclear and ballistic missile tests. But he said the U.S. responded by conducting joint military exercises with South Korea and imposing sanctions on the North. He even described the sanctions as "brutal and inhumane." Ju added that his country found no reason to be unilaterally bound any longer by the commitment which the other party fails to honor. He warned that without Washington changing its attitude, there will never be the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and North Korea may seek a new path. It's the North's first mention of its so-called new path this year at a global conference. He also criticized the recent White House proposal on resuming the Stockholm dialogue with North Korea. Ju said the US talks about resuming dialogue but it had no intent whatsoever from the beginning to withdraw hostile policies on North Korea. He reiterated that unless the US abandons hostility, the North will continue to develop strategic weapons. During the conference, Seoul and Washington emphasized their willingness to hold talks with Pyongyang, but the official said his country has seen nothing but betrayal from the United States.