HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Friday, 22 March, 2002, 14:23 GMT
N Korea 'may end' nuclear
pact
Pyongyang is already furious about US war
games
North Korea has repeated its threat to ditch a nuclear power
agreement with the US after the White House said it was unable to certify that
Pyongyang was keeping its side of the bargain.
Pyongyang's threat comes amid renewed tension on the Korean peninsula. The US and South Korea launched their biggest ever joint military exercises on Thursday, in a move condemned by North Korea - already infuriated by President Bush's inclusion in his "axis of evil" - as a declaration of war. Last week North Korea said it would withdraw from the 1994 deal in response to reports that Washington is drawing up plans for the possible use of nuclear weapons against Pyongyang. Brinkmanship North Korea also claims the US is trying to scrap the agreement, despite assurances from US officials that the delivery of 500,000 tons of oil promised to North Korea every year until the delayed reactors are completed will go ahead.
"It is a blatant challenge and dastardly betrayal to the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) which has made efforts for the world peace and stability, while suffering an enormous loss of electricity," said the official Minju Joson newspaper. "If the United States breaks the promises made to the DPRK, the latter will be free to go its own way," it added. The US-South Korea military exercises this week have already angered North Korea, even though the participants stress they are purely defensive.
Thousands of troops are involved in the drills, which will simulate a conflict with the Communist North. Pyongyang said he drills were preparations to launch a "nuclear holocaust" on the Korean peninsula. The Communist country has filed more than 100 complaints against the exercises through its officials media over the past few weeks, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency - a key monitor of North Korean media. The drills, which will continue until 27 March, involve most of the 37,000 US troops based in South Korea and a small number of troops from bases in Japan, Guam and the US. About 650,000 South Korean soldiers are taking part. The exercise is bigger than usual because it merges two annual drills that used to be held separately. It combines a computerised war game with the annual field exercises. The troops are undergoing a range of training, including counter-infiltration exercises and other tests to evaluate the operational mobility of forces. Talks deadlock Despite the current tension, South Korea is anxious to see dialogue between the US and North Korea get back on track. On Wednesday, President Kim Dae-jung said North Korea had "no other choice" but to resume talks with the US. North Korea has so far rejected a US offer for unconditional talks, believing too many strings will be attached to aid and other help. The two Koreas remain technically at war, as their three-year conflict ended in 1953 in an armistice that has never been replaced with a permanent peace treaty. --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ |
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