North Korea threatened yesterday to reject South Korea's participation in future six-nation talks on the North's nuclear weapons development, if Seoul keeps supporting US demands that Pyongyang first dismantle the nuclear programs.
The North slammed South Korea as "a spokesman for the US" that is causing "grave provocation" by siding with Washington, according to the North's official KCNA news agency.
It quoted the North's Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
Washington and Seoul say North Korea must begin dismantling its nuclear programs in a complete, verifiably and irreversible manner before receiving economic or energy aid. Pyongyang wants aid extended, simultaneously with a nuclear freeze, as a first step toward dismantlement.
The KCNA dispatch warned South Korea against "dancing to the tune of outside forces."
"If the South Korean authorities want to take part in the negotiation as a member of the six-way talks in the future, too, and remain a partner of inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation, they should ... take the independent stand for achieving peace and reunification of the country," it said.
The threat came a day after the North's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, concluded a secretive visit to Beijing. Kim told Chinese leaders he's committed to ending the nuclear dispute through dialogue, and agreed to continue six-nation nuclear talks, China's official Xinhua News Agency said.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said yesterday he sees a high possibility of progress at the next round of six-nation talks, which involve the US, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia.
All six have twice met to try persuading the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions, but have made little progress. They've agreed to meet again before July.
"I think that possibility of progress at next ... round of six-party talks is high," Jeong said at a seminar in Seoul. His ministry's public relations office confirmed the comments.
Jeong added that details of Kim's trip to the North's longtime ally, China, may come out within one or two days. Kim met President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and former president Jiang Zemin (江澤民), who remains head of the powerful commission running China's military. He also met Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), Vice President Zeng Qinghong (曾慶紅) and Wu Bangguo (吳邦國), the No. 2 leader of China's Communist Party.
Jeong rejected rosy forecasts for inter-Korean exchanges, which are based on the fact that South Koreans last week elected their first liberal-dominated parliament in four decades. He said critics of closer inter-Korean ties are still a strong force.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS