North Korea’s monarchic government sees the United States as the biggest threat to its sovereignty and the right to make its own choices in the world. And now the country has again lashed out at the Obama administration for threatening it The statement comes in the wake of Pyongyang’s recent efforts to formally end the Korean War.
Since the war between the two Koreas ended without a formal peace treaty, the two countries are still at war, technically. North Korea has moved ahead with its plan of settling all issues with South Korea diplomatically, and one of the major agendas on the list is to formally put an end to the war that ended way back in 1953.
However, the major hurdle between achieving such goals is the United States. The North Korean government believes that before moving ahead with its plan of settling its issues with South Korea, there is a need to settle issues with the United States. Senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official Jong Tong Hak stated that peace cannot be achieved on the Korean peninsula on a permanent basis unless there is a peace agreement between North Korea and the U.S.
U.S. escalating tensions in North Korea
Jong Tong Hak was giving an interview to Associated Press Television News while in London where he blamed the United States for escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula for its own motives. He said that Pyongyang is adamant that the presence of the U.S. in South Korea is the major hurdle towards a peaceful settlement between North and South Korea. America needs to put an end to its blame game, and the constant nuclear blackmail against the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea needs to stop.
North Korea has slammed the United States for its policy of playing games in the region. On one hand, the Obama administration talks about achieving permanent peace in the region, while on the other, it is giving military aid to South Korea. The U.S. criticizes Pyongyang for its nuclear program but at the same time is giving nuclear-powered aircraft to South Korea. And in addition to those aircraft, South Korea is hosting American nuclear strategic bombers on its soil, which is the biggest threat to peace on the Korean peninsula — not North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, he said.
The North Korean official also slammed the United States for carrying out joint war games and war exercises with South Korea and stated that Pyongyang sees such actions as a direct threat to its existence and has warned the United States against such actions. Jong Tong Hak further added that in order to go ahead with diplomatic efforts to achieve long-lasting peace in the Korean peninsula, Washington needs to correct its actions. North Korea is willing to make compromises for the future, but in order to get Pyongyang on board, the United States needs to take some decisive actions as well.
Accusing the United States of nuclear blackmail, North Korean officials stated that signing a peace treaty with South Korea can be done rather easily and that it is not such a big issue. However, to do that, the American government needs to make some bold decisions. But that can only happen if the U.S. is serious about promoting peace in the region. The United States, for starters, needs to respect the sovereignty of the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea. Secondly, the Obama administration needs to put an end to its hostile policies towards North Korea. If America is willing to do that, this issue of signing a peace treaty with Korean is not going to be a difficult task.
North Korea’s peace proposal conditions seems deceitful to the U.S.
The United States, on the other hand, views North Korea’s conditions for a peace proposal as duplicitous. Sung Kim, who is a special representative for North Korean policy, accused North Korea of trying to gain sympathy by making such claims while in reality, the DPRK does not want to pursue the peace process. Washington has made it clear to North Korea that sanctions on the country will be eased only if its is ready to talk and negotiate on the issue of ending its nuclear program. North Korea’s nuclear program is unacceptable to the United States at all costs.
The U.S. official further added that North Korea needs to stop the development of its long-range nuclear-capable missiles, as they are in total violation of international agreements. The U.S. Congress is mulling the idea of adding North Korea to the list of countries sponsoring and supporting terrorism in the world. North Korea’s status as a state sponsor of terrorism was lifted in 2008 when Pyongyang and Washington negotiated its nuclear program, which stalled soon after.
The United States also blamed North Korea for supplying rockets to the militant group Hamas, which has used such rockets against Israel in recent times. North Korea has downplayed such accusations from the United States and has maintained that the development of a nuclear program is its right and that it is essential to counter the threat from South Korea and the United States. The DPRK further added that more than 28,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, while North Korea is not hosting any foreign military bases despite it being a close ally of China during the war.
