Iran State Radio: N. Korea's Action Was a Response to ‘Humiliation' by U.S.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian state radio yesterday blamed North Korea's reported nuclear test on pressure from America, accusing Washington of "humiliating" the impoverished communist country.

"Not only did the United States not lift the sanctions it had imposed on North Korea, it even increased the diplomatic pressure. Such pressure finally led North Korea to conduct its nuclear test," Iranian state radio said in a commentary.

"North Korea's nuclear test was a reaction to America's threats and humiliation," it said. Iran has said it will not abandon uranium enrichment despite the threat of international sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, which Tehran insists is purely for peaceful purposes to be used for nuclear energy. President Bush yesterday said America was still attempting to confirm that a nuclear test in North Korea had actually taken place. Still, he said, "such a claim itself constitutes a threat to international peace and security."

Iranian state radio accused Washington of "double standards" in its policy on nuclear nonproliferation, pointing to its attitude toward Israel and India. India has tested a nuclear bomb and Israel is widely believed to possess such weapons, but America is not currently applying sanctions against them.