N. Korea demands withdrawal of South¡¯s ¡®primary enemy¡¯ statement

Pyongyang demanded Sunday that Seoul retract its recent branding of North Korea as its primary enemy. North Korea made the demand in a statement issued by the spokesman for its Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, which came in response to the Korean Defense Ministry¡¯s Defense White Paper 2000. The spokesman said that the South-North Korean agreements reached at June¡¯s landmark summit in Pyongyang could not be translated into action until South Korean authorities withdraw the statement.

In an announcement broadcast by North Korea¡¯s state-run Central Broadcasting Agency on Monday, the spokesman said that South Korean authorities were jeopardizing reconciliation and unity between South and North as well as prospects for reunification itself. He went on to say that South Korean authorities must understand that the inter-Korean agreements cannot be carried out smoothly unless Seoul swiftly removes anti-reunification elements from South Korean society.

A South¡¯s Unification Ministry official said that the North¡¯s demand was apparently aims at boosting its negotiating power in ministerial-level talks that are set to open Tuesday.