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N. Korea threatens huge increase in weapons - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times
By Kwang-Tae Kim - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Oct 16, 2010 11:06:21 EDT
SEOUL, South Korea North Korean media on Saturday threatened a 1,000-fold military buildup as the United States ruled out lifting sanctions to try to coax the North into resuming talks aimed at its nuclear weapons programs.
Last year, North Korea quit the nuclear disarmament talks and later tested an atomic device that drew tightened U.N. sanctions.
But North Korea said Saturday it is willing to rejoin the negotiations and remains committed to implementing a September 2005 accord on abandoning its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees. Instead, it accused the United States and other participants of holding back the six-nation talks.
North Korea is ready for the resumption of the ... talks but decided not to go hasty but to make ceaseless patient efforts now that the U.S. and some other participating countries are not ready for them, the countrys Foreign Ministry said late Saturday in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The talks involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.
The statement came after North Koreas first vice foreign minister, Kim Kye Gwan, returned home from a five-day trip to China, the Norths key ally.
Kim said after meeting with Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei on Friday that his country would not return to the disarmament talks unless sanctions are lifted, according to South Koreas Yonhap news agency.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley responded Friday that the sanctions exist because North Korea consistently has failed to live up to its international obligations. We have no intention of removing those sanctions as an enticement for dialogue, he told reporters.
Saturdays Minju Joson newspaper, part of North Koreas state-controlled media, said in a commentary that the countrys war deterrent force will be strengthened 100- or 1,000-fold as long as U.S. military threats persist, according to KCNA.
The North has often made similar threats. The latest one came two days after South Korea wrapped up naval drills with the U.S., Australia and Japan aimed at intercepting illicit weapon shipments in a U.S.-led program targeting nations such as North Korea.
Despite repeated assurances from Washington, the North believes any military drills involving the U.S. are aimed at an eventual invasion. The naval drills were an undisguised military provocation and declaration of a war against North Korea, the Norths main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by KCNA.
This weeks one-day maneuvers were Seouls first active participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative, aimed at deterring trade in weapons of mass destruction and missiles by states including North Korea and Iran.
Separately, the South Korean and the U.S. air forces kicked off annual drills Friday, which they say are aimed at improving their combined combat capabilities. The drills will last for a week, according to Seouls Defense Ministry.
North Koreas latest threats continue a trend of mixed messages. The North has recently reached out to South Korea and called for talks on the resumption of stalled tours to a resort inside North Korea. The two sides have also agreed to hold the first reunions in a year later this month for families divided by the Korean War.
By Kwang-Tae Kim - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Oct 16, 2010 11:06:21 EDT
SEOUL, South Korea North Korean media on Saturday threatened a 1,000-fold military buildup as the United States ruled out lifting sanctions to try to coax the North into resuming talks aimed at its nuclear weapons programs.
Last year, North Korea quit the nuclear disarmament talks and later tested an atomic device that drew tightened U.N. sanctions.
But North Korea said Saturday it is willing to rejoin the negotiations and remains committed to implementing a September 2005 accord on abandoning its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees. Instead, it accused the United States and other participants of holding back the six-nation talks.
North Korea is ready for the resumption of the ... talks but decided not to go hasty but to make ceaseless patient efforts now that the U.S. and some other participating countries are not ready for them, the countrys Foreign Ministry said late Saturday in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The talks involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.
The statement came after North Koreas first vice foreign minister, Kim Kye Gwan, returned home from a five-day trip to China, the Norths key ally.
Kim said after meeting with Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei on Friday that his country would not return to the disarmament talks unless sanctions are lifted, according to South Koreas Yonhap news agency.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley responded Friday that the sanctions exist because North Korea consistently has failed to live up to its international obligations. We have no intention of removing those sanctions as an enticement for dialogue, he told reporters.
Saturdays Minju Joson newspaper, part of North Koreas state-controlled media, said in a commentary that the countrys war deterrent force will be strengthened 100- or 1,000-fold as long as U.S. military threats persist, according to KCNA.
The North has often made similar threats. The latest one came two days after South Korea wrapped up naval drills with the U.S., Australia and Japan aimed at intercepting illicit weapon shipments in a U.S.-led program targeting nations such as North Korea.
Despite repeated assurances from Washington, the North believes any military drills involving the U.S. are aimed at an eventual invasion. The naval drills were an undisguised military provocation and declaration of a war against North Korea, the Norths main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by KCNA.
This weeks one-day maneuvers were Seouls first active participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative, aimed at deterring trade in weapons of mass destruction and missiles by states including North Korea and Iran.
Separately, the South Korean and the U.S. air forces kicked off annual drills Friday, which they say are aimed at improving their combined combat capabilities. The drills will last for a week, according to Seouls Defense Ministry.
North Koreas latest threats continue a trend of mixed messages. The North has recently reached out to South Korea and called for talks on the resumption of stalled tours to a resort inside North Korea. The two sides have also agreed to hold the first reunions in a year later this month for families divided by the Korean War.
