The United States has warned, should North Korea continue to boycott the six-way talks aiming to resolve its nuclear standoff, the issue may be referred to the U.N. Security Council.
Speaking to reporters after addressing an American Enterprise Institute forum on Wednesday, Under Secretary of arms control and international security, John Bolton said "if Pyongyang continues to stonewall, then I think the Security Council is the next logical step."
Bolton's remarks came a day after a North Korean Minister claimed that Pyongyang had turned plutonium from 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods into weapons to serve as a deterrent against a possible nuclear strike by the U.S.
Three rounds of multilateral nuclear talks, involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been held to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive. But Pyongyang has refused to attend the fourth, scheduled for this month, blaming both the U.S. "hostile" policy and Seoul's recently-revealed nuclear past.
Some reports say Pyongyang is attempting to buy time up until the U.S. presidential election slated for November 2nd.