North Korea: We need nukes because of U.S. threat
Pastor Dale Morgan
North Korea: We need nukes because of U.S. threat*
No. 2 leader tells summit superpower is 'high-handed' and 'unilateral'
--Associated Press
Sep 17 5:27 PM US/Eastern
HAVANA (AP) - North Korea's No. 2 leader blamed the lack of world peace
on the United States on Saturday at the Non-aligned Summit, saying
because of Washington's failure to respect the sovereignty of other
countries, "the international order is destroyed."
Kim Yong Nam said desires for peace by the 118 countries in the Non-
aligned Movement are "confronted with grave challenges owing to the
high-handed acts and unilateralism of the superpower, which denies
countries and nations the independent choice of development."
The resulting imbalance in global politics constitutes "grave threats to
world peace and security," he said.
It was the latest anti-U.S. statement at a meeting that has brought
together some of the staunchest foes of the United States, including the
presidents of Iran, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The summit opened Friday when Cuba took over the three-year leadership
of the group from Malaysia. Cuba's Defence Minister Raul Castro stood in
place of his ailing brother, President Fidel Castro, who is recovering
from intestinal surgery.
The United States has declined an invitation to attend the Non-aligned
summit in Havana and said it would have no comment on any of the
proceedings.
Fidel Castro has yet to make an appearance at the summit but has met
with individual leaders in private, including UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Algerian President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika. Photos and video of the one-on-one encounters in Cuban news
media show Castro in his pyjamas - likely an unusual sight for summit
participants.
Kim also defended North Korea's nuclear program amid concerns the
country may be preparing to carry out an atomic weapons test.
North Korea "has been left with no other option but to possess nuclear
weapons as a self-defensive deterrent," he said.
"The DPRK would not need even a single nuclear weapon if there no longer
existed a U.S. threat."
DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's
official name.
Kim said U.S. financial restrictions aimed at North Korea have created a
deadlock in six-country talks on its nuclear program, pushing the issue
into "an unpredictable phase."
Recently, the United States has moved to sever North Korea's connections
to outside banks, alleging any transactions conducted by the North
Korean government are suspect and could be connected to illegal activity
- including money-laundering and counterfeiting U.S. dollars.
Nuclear talks among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United
States were last held in November, when negotiators failed to make
progress on implementing an agreement in which the North pledged to give
up its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
"The DPRK will never go back to the talks under U.S. sanctions," Kim said.
Also Saturday, Pakistan and India agreed to restart peace talks that
were suspended after train bombings killed more than 200 people in
Mumbai in June - part of a wave of attacks India blames on Pakistan-
based militants.
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh agreed to cabinet-level talks by their foreign
secretaries after meeting on the sidelines of the summit. Singh also
accepted an invitation to travel to Pakistan to further the peace process.
"I look forward to a purposeful visit at a time to be determined through
diplomatic channels," Singh said after the meeting with Musharraf.
The Pakistani leader added: "We had a cordial, frank exchange of views
on all aspects of India and Pakistan relations. It was agreed that the
peace process must be obtained."
India blames Pakistan's support of the militants for stalling the peace
process between the nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought three
wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, two over the
Himalayan region Kashmir.
More than a dozen militant groups are fighting to make Kashmir
independent from Hindu-majority India or merge it with Muslim- dominated
Pakistan. The insurgency has claimed 65,000 lives.
The Non-aligned Movement was formed during the Cold War to establish a
neutral third path in a world divided by the United States and the
Soviet Union.