 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Seoul (AFP) Jan 16, 2011 North Korea Sunday expressed its anger over efforts by South Korea and Japan to seek closer military ties, repeating calls for Seoul to resume talks with Pyongyang first to defuse regional tensions. The fury came after Seoul expressed doubts about the sincerity of Pyongyang's repeated peace overtures, and instead sought closer military ties with Japan and longtime ally the US against threats from the North. Regional tensions have also soared after the North in November shelled an island near its disputed maritime border with the South, killing four South Koreans, including two civilians. On Sunday Rodong Sinmun, mouthpiece of the North's ruling Communist Party, labelled talks held on January 10 between Seoul and Tokyo's defence chiefs a "new military conspiracy" that hampered regional security by damaging inter-Korea ties. "Japan has worked hard with bloodshot eyes to secure a legitimate pretext for its military overseas expansion," the newspaper said in an editorial carried by state media. It also denounced Seoul for "paving the way for Japan's reinvasion" of the Korean peninsula, a reference to Japan's brutal colonial occupation from 1910-1945. Despite the historical animosities, Japan and South Korea's defence chiefs pledged deeper cooperation and discussed signing agreements to share military secrets, potentially including those on the North's nuclear programmes. "The recent military talks between the South and Japan will accelerate a military alliance among the US, Japan and South Korea and will create another major obstacle in inter-Korea dialogues and improving relations," Rodong Sinmun said. It also urged Seoul to set aside "military game plays with foreign aggressors," stressing that "the door for inter-Korea talks is open." Pyongyang, in a flurry of peace overtures since the November attack, on January 10 sent its first official proposal for talks with Seoul and said it would restore a cross-border hotline. Seoul has rejected the proposal, saying Pyongyang's overtures are a cosmetic exercise to improve its international image and get much-needed aid. The North also stepped up separate diplomatic charm offensive towards Japan, welcoming Tokyo's willingness to resume direct talks and saying it is "ready to meet and talk with countries that are friendly" to Pyongyang. Pyongyang's state media last week praised Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara for hinting Tokyo may seek bilateral talks to revive the stalled six-party disarmament talks on the North's nuclear programmes.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Tokyo, Seoul urge actions not words from N. KoreaSeoul (AFP) Jan 15, 2011 Japan and South Korea said Saturday that Pyongyang should take concrete steps to show its commitment to scrapping its nuclear arsenal before six-party disarmament talks can resume. At a meeting in Seoul, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and his counterpart Kim Sung-Hwan agreed the North must engage in productive talks with the South before other discussions among the six parties can g ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
