NK Calls for Nonaggression

North Korea said yesterday that if the US promises not to use nuclear power against North Korea through a nonaggression treaty, it would be willing to resolve the nuclear-related concerns of the US.

Choi Jin-su, the North Korean Ambassador in China, said reporters that North Korea made it clear to US special envoy James Kelly that it has the right to develop not only nuclear weapons but also even stronger ones to protect the independence and the right to survive from the US` nuclear threats.

Choi said, “The US had argued earlier this month that North Korea has been seeking uranium-enrichment development program without any ground, heightening tension on the Korean peninsula and surrounding area.”

He added, “Although the US insists our abandonment of nuclear program as the prerequisite for dialogue, dialogue under pressure has no significance. The most rational way to ease the tension on the Korean peninsula and its neighboring area is the nonaggression treaty between North Korea and the US.”

He also said, “The George W. Bush administration has maintained a hostile policy toward North Korea, designated it as an axis of evil and put it on the list of countries it can strike first. If the US continues to put heavy pressure on North Korea, there will only be a conflict.”

He again emphasized, “For a small country like North Korea, the standard for all judgment is to eliminate every threat to its independence and the right to survive. There are two ways to meet the standard; negotiation and deterrence. We think negotiation is a more desirable way.”

He also said that according to the 1994 Geneva Agreement and a confidential memorandum of understanding, North Korea is subject to receive nuclear inspection after main parts of light water reactors, but the US was misguiding the global media by saying that North Korea violated the Geneva Agreement first.

yshwang@donga.com