N. Korea vows to bolster nuclear arsenal
Pastor Dale Morgan
N. Korea vows to bolster nuclear arsenal*
SEOUL (AP) — North Korea vowed Friday to bolster its atomic arsenal in
response to what it called Washington's "persistent hostile policy,"
even as a special envoy for President Obama traveled to the region in a
bid to draw Pyongyang back to nuclear negotiations.
Envoy Stephen Bosworth, speaking in Beijing before heading to Seoul on
Friday, said Washington is ready and willing to talk directly with
Pyongyang.
"The United States reiterates its desire to engage both multilaterally
and bilaterally with North Korea," Bosworth told reporters after holding
talks with senior Chinese officials Thursday. "We believe very strongly
that the solution to the tensions and problems of the area now lies in
dialogue and negotiation."
But North Korea dismissed the Obama administration's stance as
"unchanged" from a previous policy of hostility.
"Nothing would be expected from the U.S., which remains unchanged in its
hostility toward its dialogue partner," the North's Foreign Ministry
said in a statement carried Friday by state media. The North "will
bolster its nuclear deterrent as it has already clarified."
Pyongyang, which carried out a nuclear test in 2006 and is believed to
have enough plutonium to make at least a half-dozen atomic bombs, has
been locked in a standoff over its nuclear program for months.
The regime agreed in 2007 to begin dismantling its nuclear program in
exchange for 1 million tons of fuel oil and other concessions.
Disablement began later that year, with Pyongyang blowing up the cooling
tower at its main nuclear facility in June 2008 in a dramatic show of
its commitment to denuclearization.
But disablement came to a halt a month later as Pyongyang wrangled with
Washington over how to verify its past atomic activities. The latest
round of talks in December failed to push the process forward.
North Korea's plans to launch a rocket last month heightened tensions
with its nuclear partners.
Pyongyang called the April 5 launch a successful bid to send a satellite
into space. The U.S. and others saw it as a violation of U.N. Security
Council resolutions barring the North from ballistic missile-related
activity since the same technology can be used to fire an
intercontinental missile mounted with nuclear arms.
The U.N. Security Council condemned the launch and punished the regime
by slapping sanctions on three North Korean firms.
North Korea retaliated by quitting the nuclear negotiations, kicking out
U.S. and U.N. inspectors and warning it may conduct nuclear or
long-range missile tests if the U.N. and Washington refuse to apologize
for the censure.
South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper recently reported "brisk" activity
has been detected at North Korea's nuclear test site, citing an unnamed
South Korean government source. The report could not be confirmed.
In Washington, a counterproliferation official would not confirm whether
the United States believes North Korea is on the cusp of conducting a
nuclear test but said Pyongyang is capable of conducting one quickly if
desired. The official spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity.
Bosworth and nuclear talks envoy Sung Kim had no set plans to visit
Pyongyang during his regional tour, which includes stops in Tokyo and
Moscow in addition to Beijing and Seoul, the State Department said.
While campaigning for the presidency, Obama said he would be willing to
meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il if it helps denuclearization.
His administration has so far maintained its support for talks within
the framework of nuclear negotiations.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington's goal is to
get North Korea back to the disarmament process, but warned it would be
difficult.
"We may have to show some patience before that is achieved," she told
reporters after talks Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov, whose trip to Pyongyang last month produced little progress in
getting the North back to the negotiating table.