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North Korea envoy 'very pleased' about missile capability

Pyongyang can confront the United States confidently, Choe Son Hui said in Beijing.

By Elizabeth Shim
Outside the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, Pyongyang's envoy Choe Son Hui told reporters the six-party talks on denuclearization have become "meaningless," according to South Korea press. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI
Outside the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, Pyongyang's envoy Choe Son Hui told reporters the six-party talks on denuclearization have become "meaningless," according to South Korea press. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

BEIJING, June 23 (UPI) -- A North Korean envoy to a dialogue among six-party member states said that she's "very pleased" about the "success" of recent North Korean ballistic missile launches.

Choe Son Hui, the deputy director general of the North Korean foreign ministry's U.S. bureau, also said Pyongyang isn't interested in denuclearization talks, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

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"The Hwasong-10, our means of transporting [nuclear warheads], has clearly succeeded, and for this reason we are very pleased," Choe told reporters outside the North Korean Embassy in Beijing.

Choe added, "Now if the United States pressures us with a nuclear war, we can confront them confidently, which also makes us very pleased."

On Thursday, North Korean state media stated it has successfully secured the capability to attack U.S. military bases in the Pacific a day after South Korea confirmed Pyongyang had test launched two midrange ballistic missiles.

The Musudan rockets were identified as the Hwasong-10.

The Pentagon confirmed North Korea had launched two ballistic missiles, but that the projectiles do not threaten the U.S. mainland.

On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said during a press conference in Fort Knox that one of the missiles flew for a long time, but it's hard to know whether it was a successful launch.

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Choe also said Thursday the six-party talks on North Korea denuclearization have become "meaningless."

"The six-party talks was for the purpose of discussing North Korea denuclearization, but its mission should be changed," Choe said. "Because of the U.S. threat, we made nuclear weapons and we have sufficiently secured a means of transport. At present we have no mind to discuss denuclearization in Korea."

The North Korean envoy added she had separate talks with her Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, and that she is "not disappointed at all" that China does not support Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

"China does what it has to do, we do what we have to do," Choe said.

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