N.K. Reneges On Ending Nuke Weapons Program Til Bush Is “Less Hostile” About It
Bush’s Xmas Gift To Mr. I’m So Ronery
AFP:
North Korea vowed Tuesday in a New Year policy message to strengthen its military and its economy in 2008 but made no mention of its failure to meet a year-end denuclearisation deadline.
The hardline communist state said it was committed to world peace but urged the United States to drop its “hostile” policy — a precondition it often cites for scrapping its nuclear weapons programme.
A joint editorial in newspapers published by the party, military and youth militia made only one reference to the nuclear issue which has preoccupied the world since the October 2006 atomic test.
It called for efforts to fully utilise “the mental power of all the soldiers and people, which is more powerful than nuclear weapons.”
Under a six-nation pact the North was supposed to have disabled its main atomic plants and declared all its nuclear programmes by December 31 in return for one million tons of fuel oil or equivalent energy aid and diplomatic benefits.
The United States, Japan and South Korea — members of the negotiations along with Russia, China and the North itself — expressed disappointment at the missed deadline.
Disablement work started in November but has reportedly slowed down.
The State Department said its top nuclear envoy Christopher Hill was now expected to hold talks with officials from Japan, South Korea, China and Russia on the next steps.
The editorial, without elaborating, hailed 2008 as a year “when a great change will be brought about in the history of our country and our revolution.”
It made numerous references to the Songun or army-first policy, which prioritises the welfare of the 1.1 million-strong military over civilians.
“We should constantly increase the military strength of our republic by holding fast to the party’s Songun-based revolutionary line,” it said.
“It is important to make the spirit of giving priority to military affairs prevail in the whole society, strengthen militias including the Worker-Peasant Red Guards and the Young Red Guards, and turn the whole country into an impregnable fortress.”
But the editorial also pledged to work for world peace and to “further develop relations of friendship and cooperation with all the countries that are friendly toward it.”
In addition to calling for an end to US “hostile” policy, it repeated familiar demands for a halt to joint US-South Korean military exercises and the scrapping of US bases in the South.
Following an October summit, it urged expanded cooperation and exchanges with the South.
Suh Jae-Jean, of the Korea Institute for National Unification, described the editorial’s tone as restrained.
“The calm joint editorial shows that North Korea is in a transition period towards improving ties with the US and establishing better relations with South Korea,” Suh told Yonhap news agency.
The papers also highlighted the need to build a stronger economy, substantially improve living standards and grow more food, after a year in which floods caused massive damage to the harvest.
The North relies on international aid to feed millions of its people.
“At present there is no more urgent and important task than solving the problem of food,” it said, calling for the planting of high-yield grain strains and the introduction of advanced farming technology.
In a possible acknowledgement that its collectivist farming system has failed, it added: “Agricultural officials and working people should make great efforts to do farming by themselves with the attitude of being masters.”
The editorial called for efforts to shore up basic industries such as coal mining, power generation, iron and steel, as well as a focus on science and technology.
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Starve the mother fucking gooks. Should have done that back in the 50’s. No, let’s stop at the 38th paralell and chat. Jesus fucking Christ.
January 1st, 2008 at 10:07 amMore bad ideas coming to their logical, dead-end conclusion.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:21 pmWhy the fuck did they not let MacArthur deal with these fucks the way they should’ve been dealt with…?
January 1st, 2008 at 4:11 pmWe as Americans got milked of resources at the US tax payers expense for North Korea to halt its programs long ago… Did they do it? NO, but they did get to keep all of our resources and tax payer dollars!!
Is there 1 person in the entire world that thinks North Korea will stop pursuing these weapons that they agreed too? ROFL
If America and the rest of the world is to pussy to deal with shit when it needs to be, then we deserve to have North Korea drop nukes on our cities, Provide Nuke tech to enemy nations, our economy tampered with by North Korea printing US dollars…
We deserve just what we get, people need to wake the fuck up.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:14 pmI’d like to say i’m surprised, but i’m not.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:20 pmSimply kill Kim Jung Mentally Ill.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:47 pm