Pyongyang will end up like Iraq and Libya if it gives up its nuclear weapons.

(Baonghean,vn) - That is the argument that North Korea's official KCNA news agency made in response to criticism from the international community about the country's nuclear weapons testing.

South Korean media reports that North Korea announced a successful test of a hydrogen bomb. Photo AP

After announcing the successful test of a thermonuclear bomb on January 6 and releasing a video of a submarine missile launch on January 9, North Korea continued to declare that it would not abandon its military nuclear program to fall into the same situation as Iraq and Libya.

According to a commentary by North Korea's official KCNA news agency, Pyongyang viewed the January 6 nuclear test as a "major event" proving that North Korea has sufficient deterrence capabilities to defend its borders against all hostile forces, including the United States.

“History has shown that nuclear deterrence is the most powerful sword to deter foreign aggression,” KCNA said.

KCNA likened the current international situation to the “law of the jungle” in which only the strong can survive. For example, the regimes of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya were both doomed to be destroyed after being deprived of the right to develop nuclear weapons and abandon their nuclear programs in exchange for agreements.

It is known that after the Gulf War, Mr. Saddam Hussein abandoned Iraq's nuclear program in the 1990s. Mr. Gaddafi dismantled his secret weapons programs in 2003 to move closer to Western countries.

Chu Thanh

(According to Le Figaro)