 | Not that they'll give up their nukes if we are gullible enough to sign a peace treaty, but it's necessary ... |
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Wednesday urged the United States to replace their armistice agreement with a peace treaty in order to settle the ongoing nuclear stalemate, putting Washington at the center of a nuclear deadlock ahead of expected bilateral talks.
"The nuclear issue on the peninsula can be fundamentally settled only when the U.S. repeals its hostile policy toward the DPRK and replaces the armistice agreement with a peace accord," the Rodong Sinmun, newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary.
The North has long sought a peace treaty with the United States, who signed the armistice on behalf of the U.N. forces that fought in the war, claiming that the lack of it is proof of U.S. hostility toward its regime. "A peace accord should be concluded between the DPRK and the U.S. if the nuclear issue on the peninsula is to be settled," the paper said.
| Since the U.S. signed the armistice on behalf of the UN -- because there are too many members to cram into one room to sign off -- should the peace treaty also be with the UN, not the U.S.? |
The paper also slammed comments by Philip Crowley, U.S. assistant secretary of state, that the North would be further isolated for keeping its nuclear program. "(The paper) dismisses this (Crowley's remarks) as shameless, preposterous and brigandish sophism as the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is a product of the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK," KCNA said.
| "brigandish sophism" -- there's a nice turn of phrase ... |
North Korea is boycotting the six-party denuclearization talks in protest at U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile tests earlier this year, although its leader Kim Jong-il recently expressed his willingness to return to dialogue on the condition that expected bilateral talks with the U.S. produce results. |