The first subject is South’s presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, the commander said, threatening to strike U.S. Asia-Pacific troops and the mainland as the next targets.
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In the wake of North Korea’s recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, Washington and Seoul will focus in part on defending against attacks by weapons of mass destruction during this year’s annual joint exercises.
Projects that meet USA requirements include information dispatches to North Korea – which has usually taken place across the demilitarized zone with helium balloon launches.
“State Department spokesman John Kirby said: “To be clear, it was the North Koreans who proposed discussing a peace treaty.
“We carefully considered their proposal, and made clear that denuclearisation had to be part of any such discussion”, he added. “The North rejected our response”.
Professor Etler said “North Korea and the United States ceased hostilities in 1953 with the signing of an armistice agreement, which set forth the subsequent modus vivendi which is still in effect today”.
In the 5,000-word piece on Tuesday dealing with jagangryeok, North Korea described a self-sustaining economy as the most important task to achieve, with the article urging North Koreans to depend less on foreign products.
The U.S. has effectively turned down the proposal, saying denuclearization remains its top priority.
US President Barack Obama last week signed into law legislation broadening sanctions to punish North Korea for its nuclear programme, human rights record and cyber crimes.
The US will deploy a combat aviation brigade to South Korea for the duration of the manoeuvres, as well as a mobile US Marine brigade, an aircraft carrier and its attendant fleet, a nuclear-powered submarine and aeriel tankers to refuel fighter aircraft.
However, many doubt the efficacy of global sanctions against the North Korean government. Rather, in apparent hope of yet another “historic” bargain to cap the rotten nuclear deal with Iran and the feckless embrace of Cuba’s Castro regime, he extends his hand to Pyongyang. Pyongyang’s primitive nuclear tests are not only exploited by the USA to justify a military presence but could also be used by Japan or South Korea as a pretext for developing their own nuclear weapons.
“It’s a tweaking of the conditions”, said Bruce Klingner, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former deputy division chief for the Central Intelligence Agency in South Korea, describing the administration’s move. The rejection of talks, as a practical matter, further isolates the North, gives the White House a freer hand to mobilize other countries, opens the door to a substantially more coercive policy, and effectively makes Beijing’s call this month for more talks with Kim seem cynical.
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Asked whether the heightened geopolitical risks on the Korean peninsula may affect trade between South Korea and China, Yoo said that those will have little impact on economic relations between the two neighbors.
