North Korea: ‘Prospects Remain Gloomy’ For Talks on Abandoning Nuclear Ambition
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said yesterday that prospects for talks on its nuclear weapons program looked “gloomy,” and vowed to boost its “war deterrent force.”
International efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions are stumbling as North Korea refuses to attend talks, citing what it calls Washington’s “hostile policy” toward the communist country.
“It was agreed at the third round of the six-party talks to hold the fourth round of the talks in September. But its prospect remains gloomy,” said the North’s official news agency, KCNA.
North Korea has made similar statements before. The country often escalates its harsh rhetoric ahead of crucial negotiations.
Three rounds of six-nation talks have taken place in Beijing without much success in curbing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
The fourth round of talks scheduled for September never took place because North Korea refused to attend.
The six parties involved in the negotiations are America, the two Koreas, Japan, China, and Russia.
The KCNA commentary was re leased to mark the 10th anniversary of the so-called 1994 “agreed framework” deal between America and North Korea that froze the North’s nuclear facilities in return for energy aid.
That deal collapsed in late 2002 when American officials accused the North of violating the accord by pursuing a secret nuclear program.
The North denied the charge, withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and restarted its frozen nuclear facilities.
Yesterday, KCNA also said a new American law aimed at improving human rights in the North proved that Washington was seeking to topple its regime.
The North Korean Human Rights Act was signed by President Bush earlier this week.
“The DPRK will bolster its war deterrent force both in quality and quantity to be strong enough to defeat any aggressor at a single stroke, given that the U.S. is foolishly attempting to contain the DPRK by force, while seeking a ‘regime change,’ ” KCNA said.
DPRK stands for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.
