6:13 AM
Jalal Hameed Bhatti
North Korea said Tuesday it is no longer bound by a Feb. 29 agreement with the U.S. pledging to halt missile and nuclear arms development in exchange for food aid.
"Since the U.S. violated the Feb. 29 agreement with its undisguised hostile acts, we will no longer be bound to it," North Korea's Foreign Ministry said. "The U.S. will be held wholly accountable for all the ensuing consequences," it added.
A government source here said the comments hint at an imminent nuclear test by the North. Pyongyang agreed on Feb. 29 to halt uranium enrichment and allow IAEA inspectors to return.
The North issued the statement a day after the UN Security Council "strongly condemned" the North for launching what it claims was a space rocket on Friday and tightened sanctions. Pyongyang accused the U.S. of abusing its position as the chair of the UNSC to deny Pyongyang's right to develop its defense and civilian space programs.
