North Korea Watch 2013-2019

This is no pun, nor is it of fun, it is fact... here is Dr.Un www.nbcnews.com...-qyk and fior other non posting worthy news english.yonhapnews.co.kr... ... that is all

Fires Rip Through N.Korean Arms Facilities

North Korean authorities are investigating recent fires at an arms factory and a train transporting military goods, sources said Monday.

They said a huge fire broke out early this month on a train carrying military uniforms in Ryanggang Province, which is home to the North's armaments industry, causing considerable losses.

In September, a fire broke out in an arms factory in North Pyongan Province. Both happened near the border with China.

One source said it remains unclear what caused the fires and whether they are related, but they could have been the result of minor resistance to the regime of Kim Jong-un.

The regime still has a firm grip on officials, soldiers and the public at large, making it extremely difficult to organize any major resistance. But sources say disgruntled citizens may be venting their frustration with arson targeting key facilities.

Since Kim came to power in 2012, new high rises, water park and other leisure facilities have mushroomed in the capital Pyongyang, but people in rural areas are growing increasingly disgruntled with their poor living conditions.

Chosun Ilbo

China pressing hard for 6 party talks english.yonhapnews.co.kr... as well as other news from the link

S. Korea committed to salvaging 6-party talks: presidential aide
SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is committed to pushing forward with the stalled six-party talks process on North Korea's denuclearization, a senior presidential aide said Tuesday, urging Pyongyang to give up its atomic weapons ambitions.
2013/10/29 17:49

China is 'working hard' to resume nuclear talks with N. Korea
BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- China has been "working hard" to resume the long-stalled multilateral talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Beijing's foreign ministry said Tuesday, confirming the ongoing visit by China's chief nuclear envoy to the United States.
2013/10/29 16:56

N. Korea's vice FM in Beijing amid nuclear diplomacy
BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- A senior North Korean diplomat arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for talks with his Chinese counterparts, a diplomatic source said, as China steps up its efforts to reopen the six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons program.
2013/10/29 16:12

S. Korean lawmakers set to visit inter-Korean factory park
S. Korean lawmakers set to visit inter-Korean factory park
SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- A group of South Korean lawmakers will visit an inter-Korean factory complex in North Korea this week in a tour expected to help revitalize operations there after a five-month hiatus, parliamentary sources said Tuesday.
2013/10/29 13:53
Related Stories
N.K. News
(LEAD) S. Korean lawmakers set to visit inter-Korean factory park 10-29 19:05
S. Korea committed to salvaging 6-party talks: presidential aide10-29 17:49
China is 'working hard' to resume nuclear talks with N. Korea10-29 16:56
N. Korea's vice FM in Beijing amid nuclear diplomacy 10-29 16:12
S. Korean lawmakers set to visit inter-Korean factory park 10-29 13:53
Military supply train caught fire in N. Korea: source 10-29 11:00
Mongolia will work with N. Korea to promote NE Asia stability: president 10-29 10:42
(2nd LD) Wu Dawei in 'productive' talks with U.S. on N. Korea10-29 09:48
(LEAD) Wu Dawei in D.C. for talks on N. Korea10-29 04:38
U.S. passes ball to Japan on 'collective self-defense' issue10-29 04:03
Wu Dawei in D.C. for talks on N. Korea: source10-29 03:27
Appeasement only worsens N. Korea's human rights violations: U.S. activist 10-28 15:37
N. Korea's Kim to hold talks with Mongolian president: source 10-28 15:35

that is all

more proof that Un er DPRK will not give up nukes english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

N. Korea says nuclear deterrent no bargaining chip
2013/10/30 10:17

TweetFacebook ShareGoogle +1
ReduceEnlargePrint
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Wednesday that its nuclear weapons program is not a bargaining tool and slammed South Korean policymakers for challenging the country's sovereign right to defend itself from outside aggression.

In an article carried by the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), Pyongyang said if it did not possess nuclear weapons there would be no peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and that the fate of the Korean people would be placed in jeopardy.

"The build-up of nuclear deterrence has proven to be a wise choice," the daily claimed. The communist country detonated three nuclear devices since 2006, with the latest test being carried out on Feb. 12.

The paper, which effectively represents the views of the North Korean leadership, then blasted South Korea's foreign minister and unification minister for calling on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions.

"Remarks by Yun Byung-se and Ryoo Kihl-jae are direct challenges to the country's dignity and independence," the article monitored in Seoul said, adding that calls for the North to denuclearize is nothing more than foolish wishful thinking.

It warned that any individual who challenges the rightful course taken by the country will pay a hefty price.

The latest verbal assault comes after Foreign Minister Yun said in a United Nations event earlier in the month that the North's strategy of simultaneously building up its economy and its nuclear force is a direct affront to the authority of the international organization.

Unification Minister Ryoo, meanwhile, said that the North must first give up its nuclear weapons in order for the inter-Korean factory park in Kaesong to mature and contribute to better inter-Korean relations.

[email protected]

(END)

lets face it DPRK will be a nuke state

once more Un has live fire drills english.yonhapnews.co.kr... no one was hurt this time

reply to post by bekod


It looks like it's part of this:

Party Orders 3 Days of Autumn Training

The North Korean authorities have ordered the armed forces and civilians to attend three days of anti-aircraft and battle training exercises, Daily NK has learned. The reason behind the training, which runs from the 29th to the 31st, is unclear, but it may be a precaution against social unrest while senior officers are in Pyongyang.

An inside source from North Hamkyung Province told Daily NK on the 30th, “This order came down from the Party Central Military Commission entitled, ‘On beginning training for the army and people.’ Currently, soldiers are doing anti-aircraft training and people have been mobilized for evacuations.”

“This is not like that training we had in the spring, where everyone was out on full combat mobilization,” the source acknowledged. However, “We don’t know the reason why they suddenly ordered everyone out for autumn training like this. It’s unusual, so people are puzzled.”

“The Central Party ordered that the training should last for three days from the 29th. People are complaining amongst themselves because they have no idea why they need to be mobilized from 5 in the morning until late at night,” the she went on.

Although the logic behind the move is unclear, the source said there is the possibility that the central military authorities ordered the training sessions because they were concerned that base discipline might be lost after ranking officers and political commissars were called to Pyongyang for military meetings.

“In this training there are these slogans that say, ‘We must accept the sole leadership of the Marshal [Kim Jong Eun],’” the source said. “Also, there have been lectures telling us that ‘If we all unite behind the Party there is nothing we can’t do.’”

However, “In reality, people have little interest in these exercises and can’t see the point of them. They’re only doing it because they’ve been told to do it by the Upper [Central Party], but they are much more concerned about quickly getting back to work.”

Daily NK

China DPRK to tighten up relations english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

Chinese minister vows deeper ties with N. Korea
2013/11/02 15:59

TweetFacebook ShareGoogle +1
ReduceEnlargePrint
BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- China's propaganda minister pledged to deepen relations with North Korea during a meeting here with the North's media delegation, according to state media Saturday.

Liu Qibao, chief of the publicity department of China's Communist Party, made the remarks on Friday when he met with the North Korean delegation led by Kim Won-sok, deputy editor of the North's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, Xinhua news agency reported.

"It's an unswerving principle of the Chinese Party and government to constantly consolidate and develop friendly cooperative relations with the DPRK," Liu was quoted as saying by Xinhua. DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Kim said North Korea "treasures the traditional friendship with China," while praising China's economic development, the report said.

The North Korean delegation arrived in Beijing on Monday.

[email protected]

(END)

as if this is a surprise.... not one bit

reply to post by bekod


Yeah, and now chinese state media are showing nuclear attack maps on the US just like the North Koreans did. A lot of people have been saying that the Chinese are angry with North Korea's nuclear threats and missile and nuke tests. I have been saying all along that there is no such strain in relations with North Korea and China and that North Korean actions may even been at the request of China. The North Koreans have a nuclear backpack brigade, submarines, missiles armed with nuke warheads that can reach the east coast of the US, 3000 cyberwarriors, and now are developing EMP weapons.

www.smh.com.au...

The North Koreans are not the backwards people who cannot develop good weapons that many try to portray them as.

'Scores' of Sailors Killed as 2 N.Korean Warships Sink

Two North Korean warships sank during a drill in the East Sea last month, killing scores of sailors. The vessels sank in waters near Wonsan a few days apart in mid-October, a South Korean military source said Sunday.

It is not known why the ships sank and how many were killed. South Korean military authorities spotted attempts by the North Korean navy to salvage their hulls.

The two ships will have been a Hainan-class 375-ton submarine chaser and a 100 to 200-ton patrol boat, according to the source.

"The Hainan-class submarine chaser probably sank because it's old. It was built in China in the 1960s and the North bought it in the mid-70s," the source added.

Chosun Ilbo


N.Korea Boosting Cyber Warfare Capabilities

North Korea is making massive preparations for cyber warfare against the South, the National Intelligence Service said in a parliamentary audit Monday.

The NIS quoted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as saying that alongside nuclear weapons and missiles, cyber warfare capabilities are "a magic weapon" that empowers the North Korean army to launch "ruthless strikes" on the South.

The remarks were relayed by Saenuri Party lawmaker Cho Won-jin of the Intelligence Committee.

According to the NIS, the North established the cyber strike command under the General Reconnaissance Bureau, and it is operating seven hacking organizations consisting of some 1,700 hackers under the National Defense Commission and the Workers Party.

It boosted software development staff to earn hard currency, and now 4,200 developers are working for various agencies.

The NIS said, "The North has finished manning cyber strike organizations that it can mobilize in a war."

The State Security Department and an agency known as "Bureau 225" under the Workers Party are also producing anti-South Korean propaganda to operatives through spy networks in China and Japan.

Chosun Ilbo


Park Open to Meeting with Kim Jong-un

President Park Geun-hye has said she is open to a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if that helps improve inter-Korean relations and bring peace to the peninsula.

"We are ready to help North Korea," Park told French daily Le Figaro on Saturday. "My position is that I can hold a meeting at any time if it is necessary for development in the South-North relations or peace on the Korean Peninsula."

But she reiterated that there should be no talks for talks' sake, and that "what is most important is sincerity."

A Cheong Wa Dae official, providing the customary gloss on presidential remarks, said this was a "message urging the North once again to change."

Chosun Ilbo


What was interesting to see was that Pres. Park's statement was downplayed within hours by the Blue House.

and here is the frosting on the cake english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

N. Korea may provoke to turn tide on peninsula: S. Korean Army chief
2013/11/06 17:28

TweetFacebook ShareGoogle +1
ReduceEnlargePrint
By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Army chief said Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to launch provocations to take a strategic initiative in the stagnant inter-Korean relations, calling for measures to counter the potential threat.

"There is a very high chance of provocation by North Korea's Kim Jong-un regime to turn the tide and take the lead in the inter-Korean relations," Gen. Kwon Oh-sung said in a speech to a military forum held in Seoul. "The South Korean Army should prepare for the present danger and also meet various demands."

The former deputy commander of the S. Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command said the South Korean Army should gradually replace the aging military equipment with the advanced system and effectively maintain weapons to enhance deterrence capabilities.

More than half of the South Korean Army's MD 500 helicopters have exceeded their maximum life cycle of 30 years, while operation of old battle tanks has remained idle due to a halt in manufacturing of parts needed for repair, according to the Army.

In March, South Korea chose Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to replace 36 MD 500 helicopters between 2016 and 2018.

oh but there is more english.yonhapnews.co.kr... not done yet now for the end of the news english.yonhapnews.co.kr... that is all

North Korea says it has arrested South Korean spy: KCNA

(Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it had arrested a South Korean spy and was investigating him on charges of espionage in a rare report of the capture of a secret agent by either of the rivals.

The man was arrested in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and had confessed to entering the country illegally, the North's Ministry of State Security said in comments carried by the North's official KCNA news agency.

"An initial investigation indicates that he was engaged in anti-DPRK espionage and plot-breeding activities in a third country bordering the DPRK for nearly six years, while disguising himself as a religionist," KCNA said, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

KCNA did not identify the suspect nor the "third country". It did not elaborate on what it meant by "religionist".

"He entered the DPRK to rally dishonest elements within the boundary of the DPRK and use them for undermining the stability of the social system," KCNA said. It gave no more details.

An officials for the South's National Intelligence Service dismissed the report as "groundless" and said the agency had no further comment.

Public announcements of the arrests of secret agents by either the South or the North have become rare despite the consistently high level of espionage activities conducted by the rivals since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea has prosecuted U.S. citizens for conspiring to undermine its security and is holding a Korean-born American missionary on a 15-year hard labor sentence.

North and South Korea have been in a standoff after a new attempt to promote dialogue broke down in September amid acrimony and doubts on both sides about the sincerity of the other on engagement aimed at easing tension.

Months of hostile rhetoric early this year pushed tension to some of the highest levels in years with North Korea, which has conducted nuclear tests, threatening a nuclear strike on the United States and South Korea.

Reuters

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse than Dennis Rodman visiting N.Korea... you get this:

DC rappers head to North Korea: 'If we don't die, it will be a life-changer'

Pacman and Peso have never travelled much beyond the poor suburb of Washington DC where they live. But after a successful internet fundraising drive, the unsigned hip-hop duo will next Saturday embark on a trip, to shoot a video they hope will jumpstart their career, with an unlikely destination – North Korea.

After raising $10,400 from their Kickstarter campaign, the pair will first fly to China and then on to Pyongyang, where they plan to film songs such as “God Bless Amerika” on a party bus.

Neither of them have flown on an airplane. They say they only recently discovered that North Korea was a foreign country.

Comparisons are inevitably being made with Dennis Rodman, the former basketball player whose visits to North Korea resulted in an unlikely friendship with the country's dynastic leader, Kim Jong-un. But Pacman, 19, and Peso, 20, unsigned artists in search of a record deal to lift them out of poverty, are on the cusp of a very different kind of trip.

The story of the rap duo’s adventure could only be forged in a place like Washington, a deeply divided city where separated communities only occasionally overlap. A few months ago, Pacman was walking through his neighbourhood, Congress Heights, when he came across a group of twentysomethings shooting a music video. He struck up a friendship with one of the group, a white, 24-year-old investment banker named Ramsey Aburdene, who has since been managing the pair in his spare time.

Aburdene, from DC’s affluent north-west quadrant, had an acquaintance who happened to be an expert on North Korea. Mike Bassett, 34, is a former Iraq war veteran who was lived for seven years in South Korea, four of them with the US army.

A self-described pacifist, Bassett has become a fixer for people interested in traveling to Pyongyang. A Master's student at American University, he has co-ordinated several cultural exchanges and traveled extensively in the country since restrictions were eased in 2010.

The Guardian

I doubt NK will ever do anything. Kim wants to keep his little Dictatorship going. Any war would threaten the loss of his total power... Unless they are given a huge opportunity/advantage to attack... IE: a nation-wide power grid failure in the US.

Otherwise, I think they are just being used as a big distraction from other things happening.

reply to post by PAPAZULU


You couldn't be more wrong.

The moment they will sing "God Bless America" in N. Korea, it pretty much guarantees them to a long stay visit in one of their re-education camps.
And there's nothing the US government can do about it. See the Kenneth Bae case.

To be honest, sometimes I am baffled by the naivety of some people about N. Korea. This isn't aimed at you but at the 2 rappers with their stupid idea.

I hope it turns out to be a stupid publicity stunt and that they have no intend to carry out their plans. But my gut feeling tells me otherwise.

Oh little Un still wants to be in the top head line news, if it is not war with the US or SK then let it be with Japan english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

N. Korea accuses Japan of plotting invasion by claiming sovereignty over Dokdo
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Sunday accused Japan of trying to plot another invasion of the Korean Peninsula by claiming sovereignty over the Dokdo islets.
2013/11/10 11:34

also from the same link

S. Korea calls on North to identify S. Korean detainee
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Seoul's unification ministry formally called on North Korea Monday to provide information about a South Korean citizen who Pyongyang says has been arrested for espionage.
2013/11/11 11:57
S. Korean envoy to N. Korean nuclear talks to visit China this week
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top negotiator on North Korea will visit Beijing this week to meet his Chinese counterpart and discuss ways to resume multinational talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, a diplomatic source said Sunday.
2013/11/10 17:00
N. Korea focusing more on regional development: research journal
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is focusing more on diversified development of its economy and pushing regional industries to play a greater role in earning foreign capital, Pyongyang watchers said Sunday.
2013/11/10 13:46

reminds me of a little barking dog ..annoying ... till it bites you, and Un is no exemption

Public executions seen in 7 North Korea cities

Some 80 people were publicly executed earlier this month in seven cities in North Korea excluding Pyongyang, the first known large-scale public executions by the Kim Jong-un regime, the JoongAng Ilbo reported.

The executions occurred on Sunday, Nov. 3, according to a source familiar with internal affairs in the North who recently visited the country.

The people were executed for relatively light transgressions such as watching South Korean movies or distributing pornography.

About 10 people were killed in each city, which included Wonsan in Kangwon Province, Chongjin in North Hamgyong Province, Sariwon in North Hwanghae Province and Pyongsong in South Pyongan.

In Wonsan, eight people were tied to a stakes at a local stadium, had their heads covered with white sacks and were shot with a machine gun, according to the source.

According to witnesses of the execution, the source said, Wonsan authorities gathered some 10,000 people, including children, at Shinpoong Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000 people, and forced them to watch.

“I heard from the residents that they watched in terror as the corpses were riddled by machine-gun fire that they were hard to identify afterwards.”

The Wonsan victims were mostly charged with watching or illegally trafficking South Korean videos, being involved in prostitution or being in possession of a Bible.

Accomplices or relatives of the executed people who were implicated in their alleged crimes were sent to prison camps.

The reason for the executions wasn’t immediately clear. They seem to have occurred in cities that are centers of economic development, according to a government official.

Wonsan is a port city that Kim is planning to transform into a tourist destination by constructing vacation facilities such as hotels, an airport and a ski resort on Mount Masik.

The idea that executions would be held simultaneously on a weekend in seven cities suggests an extreme measure by the central government to stamp out public unrest or capitalistic zeal accompanying its development projects.

The victims seem to be guilty of crimes related to South Korea - like watching South Korean films - or accused of corruption of public morals, especially sexual misconduct.

North Korean law allows executions for conspiring to overthrow the government, treason and terrorism. But North Korea has also been known to order public executions for minor crimes such as religious activism, use of cell phones and stealing food to intimidate the public.

Some analysts wondered if the executions were related to earlier executions of members of the Unhasu Orchestra, a state-run orchestra that First Lady Ri Sol-ju used to sing in.

On Sept. 21, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported that nine Unhasu Orchestra members were executed for filming themselves having sex and selling the films as pornography.

North Korean authorities launched a probe into the scandal, a South Korean government official familiar with North Korean affairs said, and they found that Ri was also involved in the case.

They executed all of the people involved in the scandal in order to quell any suspicions about her.

When the Unhasu members were questioned by officials, they reportedly said, “Ri Sol-ju also loved to play like us.”

The source said, “As the news that people were brutally killed in public executions spread in the countryside, the people have been spreading rumors that say that Kim Jong-un has started a terror campaign in response to the Ri Sol-ju’s pornography scandal.”

But there were no executions in the capital of Pyongyang, where Kim relies on the support of the country’s elite class. He continues to build luxury and recreational facilities in the capital, such as a new water park.

Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-analyst at the World North Korea Research Center, said, “It is the beginning of the Kim Jong-un-style of governance, buying the favor of the privileged class of North Korea in Pyongyang.”

Joongang Daily

reply to post by bekod


He's not seeking war with Japan, I explained earlier why.
To really understand that you have to know Japanese colonial history. In particular the Japanese occupation on the Korean peninsula and of Manchuria.

It's not only S. Korea and N. Korea who spoke out concerns regarding Japan, even China warned Japan yesterday not to make a wrong choice. This is all related to a very nationalist Japanese government and the US agreement which allows the JSDF to expand.

There is even talk that PM Abe want to revoke article 9 from the Japanese constitution. If art. 9 is going to be revoked, you will see a lot of condemnation from the earlier mentioned nations.

ASIAPRESS: Anti-Kim Content on the Rise

It has been alleged that members of North Korea’s Unhasu Orchestra, who were recently rumoured to be have been executed for the production and distribution of salacious footage, were in fact executed after watching a South Korean broadcast critical of Kim Jong Eun.

Jiro Ishimaru, the founder of ASIAPRESS, revealed on the 8th, “Information coming out of North Korea indicates that the point of this execution was politics, rather than a sex scandal. One motivating factor was apparently a video about Kim Jong Eun.”

“Right now, crackdowns against ‘impure recordings’ are getting more severe. At the end of October there were consecutive executions by firing squad. This proves that these extreme crackdown are not just about obscene videos or dramas,” Ishimaru went on.

Quoting a source who frequently travels between North Korea and China, Ishimaru explained, “Videos blaspheming the highest dignity of North Korea have been coming out all the time. One recent issue was a soap opera created by KBS that featured both comrade Kim Jong Eun and the General (Kim Jong Il). A cadre from the National Security Agency said that the entertainers from the Unhasu Orchestra may well have met their end because they too viewed a blasphemous video.”

“Another trader said that he had a relative who saw a broadcast related to the Kim clan that had been loaded onto a USB. The trader believed that this particular broadcast was a special that aired on KBS in October 2010, detailing the third generation succession of Kim Jong Eun,” Ishimaru continued.

Daily NK

N. Korea warns U.S., S. Korea, Japan of 'nuclear catastrophe'

TIANJIN, China, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- A senior North Korean official on Tuesday threatened the United States, South Korea and Japan with a "nuclear catastrophe," accusing them of demanding Pyongyang first take concrete steps to reopen stalled multilateral nuclear talks.

Kim Tae-gil, a senior researcher at the North's foreign ministry-affiliated Disarmament and Peace Institute, made the outburst at an international conference in Tianjin, organized by the China Foundation for International Studies (CFIS) and the China International Institute for Strategic Society.

"There is neither confidence nor dialogue on the Korean Peninsula. What you see on the Korean Peninsula are hostile relations between the DPRK (North Korea) and the United States, together with distrust and confrontation between the North and the South of Korea," Kim said in his speech at the conference.

"If a crisis erupts on the Korean Peninsula, it would result (in) a nuclear catastrophe and this catastrophe would engulf the United States, South Korea and Japan," Kim said in the English-language speech.

The six-party talks, which involved the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been dormant since late 2008. Since conducting its third nuclear test in February, North Korea has repeatedly expressed its willingness to rejoin the six-party process "without preconditions."

South Korea and the U.S. have been demanding North Korea to show its sincerity by first taking steps to denuclearize itself. China has been more accommodating toward North Korea, urging South Korea and the U.S. to lower the bar for Pyongyang to sit down at the negotiating table.

"The key principle of resolving the denuclearization issue on the Korean Peninsula is to set up a peace mechanism and deal with nuclear issues on the basis of the principle of action-for-action," Kim said.

"That is why the DPRK insists on resuming the six-party talks without any preconditions, rather than a resumption of talks with conditions that we make the first move unilaterally," Kim said.

"However, the U.S. refused to resume the talks and continued to step up its military threats against the DPRK," he said.

"Thus, the DPRK is compelled to strengthen its nuclear deterrent in order to safeguard its sovereignty. It is an inevitable choice," Kim said.

Launched in 2003, the six-party talks have yielded little progress in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. After conducting its third and most powerful nuclear test early this year, North Korea enshrined its nuclear status in its constitution.

While making diplomatic overtures, North Korea was confirmed last month to have restarted a nuclear reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear center. It is a provocative move that would provide Pyongyang with enough plutonium to build one atomic bomb a year.

During the conference, Kim made no mention of the restart of the plutonium reactor, but renewed calls for a peace treaty with the U.S. to eventually resolve a nuclear standoff.

"The frustration over the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is attributable to a lack of progress in efforts to set up a peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula," Kim said.

"The peace mechanism should either precede or at least be parallel with the denuclearization process," he said. "That has been not the case so far."

The two Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are stationed in South Korea to stand as a defense against the North Korean threat.

Yonhap

When I saw the headline, I was kind of hoping that it was about their Yongbyon facility, which is in a pretty bad state. But no, it's just N.Korea issuing another one of their warnings.

This nuclear issue is a sticking point. Personally I can see there is a very big bonus in having this nuke issue as reunification is going on. Nukes are only good at keeping international forces out of a nation, for internal national security they are pretty useless. With all the tension over this wall, what nukes do is provide a common rally point for a reunified Korea military.

As for how reunification goes, if a national Korea military can put aside their differences and keep it all together it does provide a lot more support to ease all the other political disruptions that reunification brings. Sure there is a lot of concern about just what a Korea military will decide to do with the long term nuke issue. Once strong and stable national Korean governance is formed I would like to see the nuke decision move from a military to a governance one.