 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
. |
S.Korea says N.Korea seeks to buy time to make nukes
Seoul (AFP) Dec 2, 2009 South Korea Wednesday questioned North Korea's calls for a peace treaty with the United States, declaring its real aim is to buy time to make more nuclear weapons. The comments by Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan came six days before a US envoy is scheduled to visit the communist state to try to persuade it to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks. "North Korea's talk of a peace pact is aimed at buying time and continuing developing nuclear weapons so that it may be recognised as a nuclear state," Yu told a forum. The minister also said any bilateral US-North Korea peace treaty directly linked to the settlement of the nuclear issue would not be proper. The North's position is that it has already resolved all inter-Korean issues through the 1992 Basic Agreement signed with Seoul and that a peace treaty should be signed with Washington, Yu said. "But any peace treaty must come through discussions involving the four parties concerned, South Korea, North Korea, the United States and China," he stressed. A US-led United Nations Command fought for the South in the 1950-53 war while Chinese troops supported the North. The conflict ended only with an armistice and not a formal peace treaty. Yu noted that security guarantees for North Korea are already included in a joint communique signed between Washington and Pyongyang in 2000, in the final months of the Clinton administration. The six-party talks group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan. Nuclear disarmament agreements signed at the forum in 2005 and 2007 envisage an eventual peace pact formally ending the war. However the North quit the six-party talks in April and tested a second atomic weapon in May. Leader Kim Jong-Il said in October he was ready to return to the talks, but only if bilateral discussions with the United States are satisfactory. Stephen Bosworth, US special representative for North Korean policy, is scheduled to visit Pyongyang on December 8 but Seoul officials have been downbeat about hopes for progress. A senior official told a background briefing this week there was "no confirmed signal" that the North would return to the six-party talks. "At the moment, we must say the prospects are dark," the official said. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
North Korea revamps currencySeoul (UPI) Dec 1, 2009 North Korea sharply raised the value of its currency Tuesday -- the country's first monetary reform in 17 years. The move is aimed at curbing inflation and black-market trading in an effort to tighten state control as the country prepares for another dynastic power transfer, analysts in South Korea say. The change forces North Koreans to exchange 1,000-won notes for a new 10-won bill ... read more |
. |
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook