Kerry dismisses NK warnings as 'unacceptable by any standard'
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2013, Saturday
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US Secretary of State John Kerry has dismissed as "unacceptable by any standard" weeks of bellicose warnings of impending nuclear war by North Korea and said Washington would never accept it becoming a nuclear power.
Kerry, addressing reporters after talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and leaders of the 28,000-strong US military contingent in the country, also said the United States would defend its allies in the region if necessary.
"The rhetoric we are hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable by any standard," Kerry said. "We are all united in the fact that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power."
North Korea has issued weeks of shrill warnings to the US and South Korea, including waging thermonuclear war, after the imposition of new UN sanctions in response to its third nuclear arms test in February.
Kerry's visit to South Korea coincides with preparations for Monday's anniversary of North Korean state founder Kim Il Sung's birth date, a possible pretext for a military show of strength.
Speculation has mounted that Pyongyang may launch a medium-range missile after reports that missiles had been moved into suitable locations.
Kerry said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be making a "huge mistake" if he proceeded with a launch.
Hours before his arrival, a US government agency said North Korea had a nuclear weapon it can mount on a missile, adding an ominous dimension to discussions in Seoul.
However, the assessment by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency was swiftly dismissed by several US officials and South Korea.
Asked if war was imminent, a US official in South Korea said: "Not at all."
Washington's greatest concern, the official said, was the possibility of unexpected developments linked to 30-year-old Kim Jong Un.
"Kim Jong Un's youth and inexperience make him very vulnerable to miscalculation. Our greatest concern is a miscalculation and where that may lead," the official said.
"We have seen no indications of massive troop movements, or troops massing on the border, or massive exercises or anything like that, that would back up any of the rhetoric that is going on."
Park, meeting officials from her ruling Saenuri Party before her talks with Kerry, struck a conciliatory note by suggesting Seoul should at least listen to what North Korea had to say.
"We have a lot of issues, including the Kaesong industrial zone," local media quoted her as saying. "So should we not meet with them and ask: 'Just what are you trying to do?'"
The president was referring to North Korea's closure of the jointly run industrial park, with the loss of 53,000 jobs.
In Pyongyang, Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, said North Korea would never abandon its nuclear weapons program, made necessary by the "invariable ambition of the US to militarily invade."
South Korea's Defense Ministry maintained it did not believe North Korea could mount a nuclear warhead on a missile.
The Pentagon's spokesman and the US national intelligence director both said it was "inaccurate" to infer Pyongyang had the proven ability to launch a nuclear missile.
Asked about the US reports that Pyongyang may have developed a nuclear weapon, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "China upholds the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and pushing for its denuclearization via talks and consultations. No matter what changes there are in the situation, we will uphold this direction."
Kerry, addressing reporters after talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and leaders of the 28,000-strong US military contingent in the country, also said the United States would defend its allies in the region if necessary.
"The rhetoric we are hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable by any standard," Kerry said. "We are all united in the fact that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power."
North Korea has issued weeks of shrill warnings to the US and South Korea, including waging thermonuclear war, after the imposition of new UN sanctions in response to its third nuclear arms test in February.
Kerry's visit to South Korea coincides with preparations for Monday's anniversary of North Korean state founder Kim Il Sung's birth date, a possible pretext for a military show of strength.
Speculation has mounted that Pyongyang may launch a medium-range missile after reports that missiles had been moved into suitable locations.
Kerry said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be making a "huge mistake" if he proceeded with a launch.
Hours before his arrival, a US government agency said North Korea had a nuclear weapon it can mount on a missile, adding an ominous dimension to discussions in Seoul.
However, the assessment by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency was swiftly dismissed by several US officials and South Korea.
Asked if war was imminent, a US official in South Korea said: "Not at all."
Washington's greatest concern, the official said, was the possibility of unexpected developments linked to 30-year-old Kim Jong Un.
"Kim Jong Un's youth and inexperience make him very vulnerable to miscalculation. Our greatest concern is a miscalculation and where that may lead," the official said.
"We have seen no indications of massive troop movements, or troops massing on the border, or massive exercises or anything like that, that would back up any of the rhetoric that is going on."
Park, meeting officials from her ruling Saenuri Party before her talks with Kerry, struck a conciliatory note by suggesting Seoul should at least listen to what North Korea had to say.
"We have a lot of issues, including the Kaesong industrial zone," local media quoted her as saying. "So should we not meet with them and ask: 'Just what are you trying to do?'"
The president was referring to North Korea's closure of the jointly run industrial park, with the loss of 53,000 jobs.
In Pyongyang, Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, said North Korea would never abandon its nuclear weapons program, made necessary by the "invariable ambition of the US to militarily invade."
South Korea's Defense Ministry maintained it did not believe North Korea could mount a nuclear warhead on a missile.
The Pentagon's spokesman and the US national intelligence director both said it was "inaccurate" to infer Pyongyang had the proven ability to launch a nuclear missile.
Asked about the US reports that Pyongyang may have developed a nuclear weapon, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "China upholds the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and pushing for its denuclearization via talks and consultations. No matter what changes there are in the situation, we will uphold this direction."
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