North Korea is ready to develop peaceful relations with world nations – but only as a nuke state, the DPRK’s nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam said on Sunday. This comes as the US, Japan, and China call for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
North Korea, which, despite tension, is getting ready to celebrate the birthday of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung, said it was ready to conduct relations “based on the ideals of peace and sovereignty” and contribute to security and stability in Asia, and in the whole world “as a responsible nuclear-weapon state.”
However, North Korea’s Kim Yong-nam pointed out that not every nation is worthy their friendship, saying the country’s “invincible defense forces” armed with strengthening “nuclear deterrence forces” will “unfold a total fight against the USA, acting in accordance with a wartime scenario.”
“We will expand in quantity our nuclear weapons capability, which is the treasure of a unified Korea… that we would never barter at any price,” Kim Yong-nam stressed.
Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday asserted the United States is willing to “reach out” to North Korea – as long as it “takes action” towards giving up its nuclear program.
“I think it is really unfortunate that there has been so much focus and attention in the media and elsewhere on the subject of war, when what we really ought to be talking about is the possibility of peace. And I think there are those possibilities,” Kerry said during his Sunday visit to Tokyo where he is meeting his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kishida reiterated the American condition for talks, saying both Japan and the US “cannot allow North Korea in any way to possess nuclear weapons.”
North Korea should cease its “provocative speech and behavior,” Kishida stressed, urging it to take “concrete action toward denuclearization.”
Just the day before, China also said it is “firmly committed to upholding peace and stability and advancing the denuclearization process on the Korean peninsula.”
“There is no question in my mind that China is very serious – very serious – about denuclearizing,” Kerry noted after his Saturday talks with top Chinese officials.
He also warned the North Korean government would be making a “huge mistake” if it were to launch a missile as he stopped in South Korea, where some 28,000 US troops are stationed.
This picture taken by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on April 14, 2013 shows a national meeting to celebrate the 101st anniversary of late leader Kim Il-Sung’s at the April 25 Culture Hall in Pyongyang.