Nuclear test offer unlikely to succeed
North Korea’s foreign minister has told The Associated Press that his country is ready to halt its nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea.
He also defended the country’s right to maintain a nuclear deterrent, and warned that North Korea would not be cowed by international sanctions. And for those waiting for the North’s regime to collapse, he had this to say: don’t hold your breath.
Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, in his first interview at the weekend with a Western news organisation, held firm to Pyongyang’s long- standing position that the US drove his country to develop nuclear weapons as an act of selfdefence.
At the same time, he suggested that suspending the military exercises with Seoul could open the door to talks and reduced tensions.
‘‘If we continue on this path of confrontation, this will lead to very catastrophic results, not only for the two countries but for the whole entire world as well,’’ he said.
‘‘It is really crucial for the United States government to withdraw its hostile policy against the DPRK, and as an expression of this stop the military exercises, war exercises, in the Korean Penin- sula. Then we will respond likewise.’’ DPRK is an abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Ri, who spoke calmly and in measured words, a contrast to the often bombastic verbiage used by the North’s media, claimed the North’s proposal was ‘‘very logical’’.
‘‘Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean Peninsula, then we should also cease our nuclear tests,’’ he said during the interview, conducted at the country’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations.
If the exercises were halted ‘‘for some period, for some years’’, he added, ‘‘new opportunities may arise for the two countries and for the whole entire world as well’’.
Ri’s comments came just hours after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine, in its latest show of defiance as the US-South Korea exercises wind down.
He referred to the launch in the context of current tensions caused by the military exercises. ‘‘The escalation of this military exercise level has reached its top level. As the other side is going for the climax, why not us, too, to that level as well?’’
It is extremely rare for top North Korean officials to give interviews to foreign media, particularly Western news organisations.
Ri’s proposal, which he said he hoped US policymakers would heed, may well fall on deaf ears. North Korea, which sees the USSouth Korean exercises as a rehearsal for invasion, has floated similar proposals to Washington in the past but the US has insisted that the North give up its nuclear weapons programme first before any negotiations.
In response to Ri’s remarks, a US State Department official defended the military exercises as demonstrating the US commitment to its alliance with the South. ‘‘We call again on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that further raise tensions in the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its international commitments.’’