[USFK Forums] N. Korea calls on U.S. to cooperate in nuclear affairs [Yonhap]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Wednesday, March 22, 2006

(2nd LD) N. Korea calls on U.S. to cooperate in nuclear affairs

2006/03/21 22:39

SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Tuesday urged the United States to cooperate in nuclear matters, warning it is fully prepared to counter a possible U.S. preemptive attack, the state-run (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

In an interview with the KCNA, an unidentified spokesperson from the Foreign Ministry called upon the U.S. to find a "practical solution" to the nuclear standoff between the two sides.

"The U.S. should not insist that we first abandon nuclear weapons. Rather, it would be wise to take the path of cooperation in the field of nuclear matters," KCNA quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Because North Korea manufactured nuclear weapons to counter the nuclear threat from the U.S., it has recourse to "traditional" measures to stand up to ever-growing U.S. pressure, according to the report.

"Preemptive attack is not the sole property of the U.S. We have all measures needed to counter its possible preemptive attack," the pokesperson said.

The spokesperson also criticized the U.S. for what he calls a U.S. hostility toward North Korea, citing a recent security report labeling the communist country an oppressive regime.

In a national security strategy report, the U.S. said the North Korean regime poses a serious nuclear proliferation challenge. The report grouped North Korea with Iran, Syria, Cuba, Belarus, Burma and Zimbabwe as oppressive regimes.

As for the stalled six-party talks, the spokesman put the blame on the U.S., saying North Korea showed what the official called "flexibility and generosity" during bilateral talks in New York earlier this month.

"The Bush Administration is making up every ruse to shift the blame for the stalemate in the six-party talks onto us," the spokesperson said.

The six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the U.S.,China, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since November, with Pyongyang protesting U.S. accusations that North Korea is counterfeiting American dollars and trafficking contraband goods.

The six countries reached a deal in September that commits Pyongyang to abandoning its nuclear weapons program in return for security guarantees and economic aid. But implementation of the deal has been delayed by the standoff between the United States and North Korea over the counterfeiting and trafficking charges.

North Korea refuses to rejoin the six-nation talks, saying the U.S. should first lift its financial sanctions on entities associated with the communist country.

The current nuclear row was sparked by U.S. allegations in 2002 that North Korea had admitted to having a uranium-based nuclear weapons program in addition to its known plutonium-based one, a claim denied by the North.

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