Kim says N. Korea won’t use nukes first
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NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that his country will not use nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty is invaded, and announced a five-year economic plan at a milestone congress of North Korea’s ruling party, which entered its third day yesterday.
Kim said on Saturday that he is ready to improve ties with “hostile” nations, and called for more talks with rival South Korea to reduce misunderstanding and distrust. He also urged the United States to stay away from inter-Korean issues.
“Our republic is a responsible nuclear state that, as we made clear before, will not use nuclear weapons first unless aggressive hostile forces use nuclear weapons to invade on our sovereignty,” Kim said in a roughly three-hour speech shown yesterday on Korean Central Television.
At the congress, Kim also announced a five-year plan starting this year to develop North Korea’s economy, and identified improving its power supply, and increasing its agricultural and light-manufacturing production as critical parts of the program.
The country must secure more electricity through nuclear power, and needs to increase its international trade and engagement in the global economy, he said.
North Korea “will sincerely fulfill its duties for the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and work to realize the denuclearization of the world,” he said.
North Korea is ready to improve and normalize ties with countries hostile to it if they respect its sovereignty and approach it in a friendly manner, he said.
Despite the talks about more diplomatic activity, Kim also made it clear that Pyongyang has no plans to discard its byongjin policy of simultaneously developing its nuclear weapons and its domestic economy.
He described the twin policy as a strategy the party must permanently hold on to for the “maximized interest of our revolution.”
North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test in January and followed with a satellite launch in February that was seen by outside governments as a banned test for long-range missile technology and brought tougher United Nations sanctions.
Pyongyang responded to the punitive measures, and also the annual US-South Korean military drills in March and April, by firing a series of missiles and artillery into the sea. It also claimed advancements in developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
South Korea has taken a hard-line approach to North Korea following its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, shutting down a jointly run factory park in a North Korean border town that had been the last remaining symbol of cooperation between the rivals and slapping Pyongyang with its own economic sanctions.
Seoul has also been in talks with Washington on deploying a sophisticated US missile defense system in South Korea.
Kim said “fundamentally improving” inter-Korean relations was an urgent matter for his government and also called for South Korea to “hold hands” with it as a “companion” for unification. He called for more talks with Seoul, and in particular a meeting between military officials to reduce tensions.
However, he stressed that South Korea must first employ practical measures to improve ties and throw out laws and institutional systems that have hampered them. He also said the US should no longer be involved with matters on the Korean Peninsula, and that if enemy forces “ignite the fire of war,” it is ready to punish the aggressors and accomplish the “historical feat” of unification.
Kim called for Seoul and Washington to stop their military drills and also said the US should withdraw its 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a buffer against possible aggression from its northern neighbor.
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