The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Thursday that it will make public to the world its nuclear deterrent force at an appropriate time.

When an appropriate time comes, the DPRK will take measures to display its nuclear deterrent to the world as a physical force, a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry told the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

He noted that although the United States had said it was considering to offer security assurance to the DPRK, it refused to sign a binding non-aggression accord with the DPRK and put DPRK's complete dismantling of its nuclear program as the prerequisite.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Oct. 10 that the US government would put forward a scheme of security assurance involving multiple nations to the DPRK at an appropriate time.

Describing the moves recently taken by the United States as self-contradictory, the spokesman said the United States has no sincerity to solve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through peaceful dialogue and thoroughly improve the bilateral relations with the DPRK

If the United States does not change its position, the next round of six-way talks will not solve the problem but make it more complicated, he said.

The spokesman stressed that the DPRK has no choice but to take measures to maintain and increase its nuclear deterrent force, in an effort to defend itself against the hostile policy pursued by the United States.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2003)