North Korea: nuclear weapons nonnegotiable

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By Rex Crum, MarketWatch

Reuters

As tensions increase on the Korean peninsula, North Korea' conducts live-firing exercises near the front line with South Korea.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — North Korea raised its rhetoric against the U.S. over the weekend, saying its nuclear program was not a bargaining chip that could be used to negotiate with the reclusive communist nation.

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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

The latest comments from North Korea came on Saturday, a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. would install 14 new missile interceptors on the West Coast by 2017 as part of an effort to shield the country against a potential attack from North Korea.

Several Western news outlets reported a statement attributed to a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman saying, the nation’s nuclear weapons “serve as an all-powerful treasured sword for protecting the sovereignty and security of the country,” and that the weapons “can not be disputed as long as the U.S. nuclear threat and hostile policy persist.”

The North Korean officials comments were originally reported by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency.

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U.S. boosts North Korea defense

The Pentagon is preparing to strengthen its missile defense systems on the West Coast in response to increased threats from North Korea and rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Photo: AP

North Korea’s comments are the most-recent in the saber-rattling that has occurred since December when the country conducted its first successful long-range rocket launch.

The U.S. and other Western nations believe the rocket launch is a part of North Korea’s goal of putting a satellite in orbit.

In February, North Korea conducted a nuclear test that prompted the United Nations Security Council to speed up the process of imposing sanctions on North Korea in hopes the country will abandon or at least curtail its nuclear activities.

Rex Crum is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco. Follow him on Twitter @mktwcrum.