Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

“Never acknowledge North Korea’s claims to be a nuclear power”

Pointless suggestion to hold military talks if there is no sincerity

It is not worth commenting on North Korea’s demands, such as the withdrawal of US Forces

North Korea should stop its provocations and demonstrate its intent for denuclearization

Continue to apply sanctions and pressures on North Korea until it gives up its nuclear ambitions

With respect to Kim Jong-un's claims that North Korea is a nuclear power and suggestion to hold the ‘South-North dialogue’ during his speech at the 7th congress of the North Korean Workers’ Party,  the Ministry of National Defense underlined  that “Our government and international society will never acknowledge this nuclear power; it is meaningless to have a conversation about denuclearization unless there is a sincere change in attitude.”

At a regular briefing on May 9th, Defense Department spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said, “North Korea’s claims that they are trying to address the world's denuclearization mission, calling themselves a responsible nuclear power, is just an affirmation that they will never give up their nuclear weapons, as they make it a fait accompli of their position on nuclear power. Our consistent stance, which is shared by the international community, is that we do not acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear power.”

He also placed an emphasis on our government's strong determination to keep putting pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear operations using powerful sanctions and pressures. Regarding Kim Jong-un’s mention that he admits the necessity of military talks, Spokesman Moon drew a line that these talks are meaningless at this point since it has no sincerity, saying that it was just an e-x-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n of his position in principle rather than a direct suggestion.

Spokesman Moon continued, “We cannot detect any degree of sincerity at all, as North Korea speaks of the necessity of military talks to ease the strained relationship in this situation that they think of themselves as a nuclear power and commit to nuclear and missile provocations. Our government has opened the door for dialogue, but North Korea should stop its provocations, while also showing their intent to denuclearize first to have an actual dialogue.”

North Korea has demanded the withdrawal of US forces, as well as the cessation of Korea-US combined training and psychological warfare initiatives. The MND flatly rejected these demands, saying that it is not worth commenting on these issues, as they have been repeated numerous times.

Moon added, “Once North Korea clarifies its parallel nuclear and economic intentions as an ongoing strategy, we expect North Korea to continue its additional nuclear experiments and missile test firings to strengthen nuclear missiles’ completeness. Our military is ready to target against various strategic tactics and hit-and-run provocations from North Korea.”

The Ministry of Unification also pointed out that North Korea's statements were solely propaganda or incitements, insofar as North Korea keeps mentioning the need for talks and negotiations to improve South-North relations, while continuing nuclear developments, provocations, and threats that are aimed directly at us, which threatens the survival of the people. The Ministry also concluded by saying that we do not acknowledge North Korea's position as a nuclear power, and that international sanctions and pressure would continue to be placed upon North Korea until it gave up its nuclear weapons and tests.

By Byeong-No, Yun < trylover@dema.mil.kr >
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