DPRK tells ROK to stop meddling in nuclear issue

PYONGYANG - A senior diplomat of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea urged the Republic of Korea on Saturday to stop "nonsensical" talk about denuclearization.

Kwon Jong-gun, the director general of the Department of US Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that "it is really preposterous to hear the balderdash of South Korean authorities－who do not have either any qualification to discuss or the position to poke their noses into the matters between the DPRK and the US, to say nothing of nuclear issues－commenting on the resumption of DPRK-US dialogue and interpreting the issue of denuclearization at their own choice".

Kwon said it is not because there is no mediator that the DPRK-US dialogue has broken down and the denuclearization blown off, but because "conditions are not met" for denuclearization.

Negotiations between the DPRK and the United States were stalled after the summit between the top leaders of the two countries in Hanoi in February last year failed to reach an agreement on the denuclearization process in the Korean Peninsula.

"I want to make it clear that we will continue to build up our force in order to overpower the persistent threats from the United States, and such efforts of ours are in fact continuing at this point of time," he said.

"If they want to deal with us, they will have to approach us after racking their brains and finding a different method," as "we are not what we were two years ago".

On Tuesday the DPRK cut off all inter-Korean communication lines in protest against the ROK authorities for allowing "defectors" to scatter leaflets across the border, which it described as a hostile act that breached a series of peace agreements between the two sides.

It is high time to break with the ROK authorities and retaliate with possible military force against the ROK, Kim Yo-jong, first vice-department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, or WPK, said on Saturday.

In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim, who is also younger sister of DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, said she had given instructions for decisive action to be taken.

Kim also said she fully supported the statement issued on Friday by Jang Kum-chol, director of the United Front Department of the Central Committee of the WPK, who said Pyongyang has lost all confidence in the ROK government and warned of "regretful and painful" times ahead.

In response, the ROK on Sunday convened an emergency security meeting and urged the DPRK to uphold reconciliation agreements.

Chung Eui-yong, the ROK's national security director, held an emergency video conference with ministers in charge of security and military generals on Sunday morning to discuss the latest situation on the Korean Peninsula and the government's possible steps, the presidential Blue House said in a statement.

The Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the DPRK, later said that both Koreas must strive to abide by all agreements they have reached. The defense ministry said separately that it closely monitors the DPRK's military and maintains a firm military readiness.

Both ministries said the ROK government "views the current situation as grave".

Xinhua - Agencies