BRUSSELS - The head of a North Korean parliamentary delegation said Tuesday that his country had been forced to develop a nuclear weapon to keep the United States at bay.
"It was a question of life or death" for North Korea, which has been "under sanctions and severe pressure from the United States for more than 60 years," said the lawmaker, Ri Jong Hyok.
"In life, when a thief comes into your house, you have two options: either you run away and let him do his business, or you grab whatever is at hand to try to scare him off," he added.
North Korea announced Monday that it had carried out its first test of an atomic bomb, sparking international condemnation.
Ri was speaking at a cross-party parliamentary group at the European Parliament in Brussels, where he and two other North Korean deputies and two diplomats were on a two-day visit.
10/10/2006 16:56 GMT