Hong Chol Hwa, director of the Law Institute under the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences, told KCNA:

"Not a few U.N. General Assembly resolutions and international conventions on terrorism were adopted in the 20th century, defining terrorism as international crime.

The Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, adopted at the UN General Assembly in 1994, and the code on crimes against peace and security of mankind, adopted at the U.N. Commission on International Law, define as a serious international crime any country's act to organize, encourage and instigate activity intended to undermine or destabilize other country's socio-political system, making it a duty for all nations to prohibit such conducts.

But the United States, which has staged 'total war on terrorism' after the '9/11 incident', committed extra large-scale terrorist acts against the DPRK.

The news of attempted terrorism is giving a great shock to the international community."

Ri Kyong Chol, a section chief of the institute, said:

"There are many international conventions on combating terrorism at present.

Typical are the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. These conventions elaborate on the kinds of international terrorism and stipulate that those who commit such crimes be severely punished regardless of their political motives and prescription be not applied to those criminals.

The recently detected terrorism against the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership is evidently a hideous crime contrary to the internationally-established anti-terrorism system.

In particular, the system prohibits encroachment upon the life, health and honor of heads of state. Nevertheless, the United States appointed as targets of terrorism the statues of the great men whom the DPRK people are holding in high esteem as their eternal leaders and attempted to use the internationally banned explosives."

Han Sok Bong, a researcher at the Institute, said:

"With the recent hideous terrorist attempt the U.S. seriously encroached on the security of the DPRK.

According to international law, a victim state is entitled to take necessary counteraction against an assailant state.

The U.S. should admit the gravity of the terrorist case and officially apologize to the DPRK for this hideous crime."