North Korea threatens nuclear attack, reaffirms reactor restart

Seoul

NORTH Korea has said it is ready to use nuclear weapons against the US at any time and that its main nuclear facility was fully operational, allowing the country to improve both the quality and the quantity of its nuclear weapons.

The statement, along with a pledge to launch a satellite with missile technology banned by the United Nations Security Council, comes as the Kim Jong Un regime prepares to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party. The comments fit a pattern of saber rattling by the authorities in Pyongyang before the celebration of such milestones.

"It's sending a message to the US that its nuclear threat will only get worse if the country continues to be treated with sanctions and pressure rather than with negotiations," Koh Yu Hwan, a professor of North Korea studies at Seoul's Dongguk University, said. "It's No…