N. Korea: No talks unless US drops hostile policy
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-19 09:27

North Korea will never dismantle its nuclear arsenal and will not resume talks on its atomic programs unless the United States drops its "hostile" policy, the North's official KCNA news agency said on Saturday.

In a rare commentary that carries considerable weight, KCNA said disclosures about unsanctioned nuclear experiments in South Korea in 2000 and 1982 showed Washington applied double standards, criticizing the North but understanding the South.

"It is self-evident that the resumption of the talks can no longer be discussed unless the U.S. drops its hostile policy based on double standards toward the DPRK and that the latter can never dismantle its nuclear deterrent force," said KCNA.

The North's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

A commentary from KCNA carries an official imprimatur but also allows Pyongyang the ambiguity to offer a different interpretation through diplomatic channels.

The United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia have been seeking at so far fruitless six-party talks to persuade North Korea to give up its atomic ambitions completely in exchange for security guarantees and energy aid.

Washington also accuses Iran of secretly developing nuclear arms, a charge Tehran denies.

The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency met in Vienna on Saturday to debate a toughly-worded resolution by France, Britain and Germany demanding Iran immediately freeze its uranium enrichment program.

North Korea has rejected Washington's demand for complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of its projects.

"What infuriates the DPRK is that the U.S. has so far shut its eyes to the secret nuclear activities of its allies under its nuclear umbrella but has pressurized the DPRK to accept the CVID," said KCNA.

"This means that the six countries having either access to nuclear weapons or perfect capability to develop them sat at the negotiating table to discuss the DPRK's nuclear issue only."

It said the South's test underscored U.S. double standards.

SOUTH HAS NO NUCLEAR PLANS

"The U.S. transfers nuclear technology to its allies and connives at their development and access to nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, it makes far-fetched assertion without any convincing evidence that the DPRK has pursued clandestine uranium enrichment," it said.

The North Korea nuclear crisis began in October 2002 when Washington said the North had said it had an enrichment program. Pyongyang has subsequently denied saying this.

Earlier on Saturday in Seoul, South Korea declared it had no plans to develop or possess nuclear weapons, but said it would pursue scientific atomic research transparently in cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

The government held a National Security Council meeting on Saturday after the governing member countries of the International Atomic Energy Agency noted "serious concern" expressed by the U.N. agency's head and deferred until November judgment on South Korea's previously undisclosed tests.

South Korea recently said scientists enriched a small amount of uranium in 2000 and separated plutonium in 1982 without government knowledge or approval. Diplomats have said some of the uranium was close to the purity needed for an atom bomb. Plutonium can also be used in a bomb.

Seoul says the enrichment was conducted by ambitious scientists unaware of the political implications of their action. But the news has complicated tortuous attempts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea said on Thursday South Korea's past atomic experiments had to be fully explained before the North would join a new round of six-party talks with South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. Saturday's KCNA commentary applied another torque of pressure.

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