[Commentary] We Want Unconditional Talks between North Korea (NK) and South Korea (SK), and between North Korea and the USA.

At the press conference of March 24, 2014 the North Korean Deputy Ambassador to the UN asserted that NK had been creating a good atmosphere for Korean reunification by holding a separated-family visits and high official talks cooperating with SK, but US is enforcing a new hostility policy against NK by joint military drills with SK on the ground of fabricated stories about NK's provocations and threats.

NK reproached the attitude of US saying that this year NK had consistently made an effort for the safety and peace of our nation by improving the North-South relationship by refraining from defaming each other and by holding a separated-family meeting, but US attempts to block the small opening of the North-South dialogues by launching SK-US joint military drills deploying the most modern nuclear weapons with the purpose of attacking NK.

He also revealed that the aim of the new anti NK Policy is the complete conquer of NK by military power. And he also declared that NK will keep taking additional measures unless US does not withdraw the anti-NK policy.

At the news conference the secret US war plan on the Korean Peninsula was revealed and the danger of the SK-US joint military drills was identified. Further, the NK’s efforts for improving the North-South relationship and reducing tension were confirmed.

In spite of NK's warning, the heads of SK, US and Japan agreed to deal with the NK's nuclear device at the March 25th summit on condition that NK first gives up the nuclear power. This agreement is similar to the past confrontational policy of US.

Unilateral abandoning of the nuclear arms has no precedent in the history of diplomacy. The principle of the international diplomacy is give-and-take. NK has always asserted the principles of "war-to-war" or "talks-to-talks". To understand the reason of NK's demand for simultaneous actions, it is helpful to review the past and precedent cases.

In the past when US invaded Iraq US demanded that Iraq first give up its weapons of mass destruction, and Iraq complied with it. Then, US attacked Iraq. US demanded the same thing from Iran, but Iran declined it, so US could not attack Iran. When the whole world is aware of this historical fact, who would first give up their weapons unconditionally?

Therefore, their demand of the unilateral nuclear abandonment by NK agreed upon at the SK, US, and Japan Summit means a complete disregard of NK's March 24th news conference. If US had first announced holding a 6-party-meeting unconditionally, and if they had agreed to hold an unconditional full talks with NK, the whole world would have welcomed it.

Based on the President Park's open statement that US took an initiative in this meeting, we can say US played the main role to forge this agreement.

NK blamed US for the responsibility for deliberately intensifying military tension in the Korean Peninsula. It looks like that US, the leader in intensifying tensions, actively led the summit meeting, and US is the one who heightened the hostility toward NK, and US forged the joint measures against NK's nuclear arms, etc.

NK took an action by launching missiles on March 26th as if to prove that "additional measures" is not an empty phrase.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of SK announced that the missile experiment was a provocation. SK has claimed SK-US joint military drills held on the land of SK, which assumes attacking NK, is annual routine businesses but calls NK's matching military drills provocations. This claim is preposterous.

In fact NK concluded that it is a deceptive talk for the US to make statement that NK's missile experiment was a provocation and the joint military drills were ordinary businesses. NK asserted that the aim of this deceptive talk is to escape from the responsibility of intensifying the tension in the Korean Peninsula.

Early this year NK requested SK to stop mutual defamatory exchanges and to discontinue military drills with a foreign power, which are the major sources of escalating tension. NK requested SK to make efforts together in improving North-South relationship. US and SK have so far ignored NK's propositions and fortified their military drills and behaviors which defame NK with vicious slanders.

It looks like there are ongoing SK-US military drills, and Japan joined them in compliance with the summit agreement. In addition to US soldiers Japanese soldiers will walk around freely on the land of SK. Therefore, the Korean Peninsula became an imminent battle field that could be covered with fire and smoke.

When we review the current positions of NK, SK and US, it becomes clear that NKhas wanted better relationship with SK. SK and US, however, have roamed outside the arena of dialogues instead of entering it, and they have constantly demanded NK to first give up the nuclear arms slandering with phrases like "a barren land of human rights" or "We wish to help their economy". Now by adding Japan to its team US is expanding the confrontational stage. SK's help alone seems not enough in dealing with NK.

The possibility of war is higher than any other time. US must stop the confrontation immediately unless SK, US, Japan enjoy the crisis of war, or if it is not a deliberate provocation to wage a real war. Our people want neither war nor the crisis of war.

We want peace. We want Unconditional North-South talks and North-US talks immediately. US must remember that nothing can be resolved by means of war. The truce agreement must be changed to a peace agreement. And, both NK and SK must implement the 6.15 Joint Declaration and the 10.4 Declaration for the sake of peace and prosperity of our nation.

March 26, 2014

Spokesperson

The Korean American National Coordinating Council, Inc.