South Korea says North summit possible if talks go well

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday held out the possibility of a leaders' summit with rival North Korea if planned inter-Korean dialogue goes well, saying he had high hopes for their first talks in months.

The two Koreas have agreed to discuss November's attack by the North on a southern island and an attack in March on a South Korean naval vessel which Seoul has blamed on the North, helping to ease tension on the peninsula and opening the way for the possible resumption of six-party aid-for-disarmament talks.

The two attacks killed 50 people.

Seoul has suggested preliminary military talks take place at the Panmunjom truce village on February 11. The talks are meant to set the agenda for a more senior meeting, possibly at ministerial level.

The South has also proposed separate political talks to gauge Pyongyangy's sincerity about denuclearisation, the key component of stalled aid-for-disarmament talks which the North walked out of two years ago.

The North has yet to respond to the proposal for bilateral nuclear talks.

"I don't deny it," Lee said when asked during a live television interview if progress at upcoming talks could possibly lead to a summit between the rival Koreas' leaders. "We can have a summit if needed."

Lee cut off a decade of unconditional aid to the North when he took office in 2008, angering Pyongyang, and demanded the isolated neighbour end its nuclear programmes if it wanted Seoul to get back to commercial exchange and giving aid.

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NKorea slams SKorea over defense ties with Japan

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea is criticizing South Korea for pushing to strengthen defense ties with Japan, calling the cooperation a dangerous plot to invade the North.

The North's government-run Uriminzokkiri website made the criticism Wednesday, two days after South Korea and Japan agreed to launch consultations on accords to share intelligence and provide each other's militaries with fuel, food and other materials.

The pacts, if signed, will be the two countries' first military agreement since Tokyo's brutal colonial rule of the Korean peninsula ended in 1945.

The North says the accords will help a U.S. plot to attack the North with its allies.

Seoul and Washington have repeatedly said they have no intention of invading North Korea.


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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/11/AR2011011107341.html

US attacks North Korea 'sacred war' threats

The US has denounced North Korea for threatening a "sacred war" against the South, whose military has been holding live-fire drills near the border.

The state department's Philip Crowley told the BBC there was no justification for Pyongyang's "belligerent words".

In a day of rising tension, Seoul and Pyongyang traded strong rhetoric, with the South warning of a "powerful response" to any attack from the North.

A month ago, the North fired on a Southern island, killing four people.

Thursday's speech by Armed Forces Minister Kim Yong-chun marks the strongest statement from Pyongyang since the attack on Yeonpyeong island.

Analysts believe the hard-line stance might be timed to coincide with the 19th anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il taking control of the armed forces, which will be marked on Friday.
'Nuclear' threat

"We've heard this language before," said Mr Crowley in an interview with BBC's Newshour.

"Unfortunately sometimes that kind of language is followed by irresponsible actions, whether it's a missile test, a nuclear test or the shelling of South Korea, as occurred last month."

He added that the North would get no reward for its "provocative actions".

China, the North's only major ally, also issued a statement asking both parties on the peninsula to remain calm.

Pyongyang is frequently accused of sabre-rattling in order to strengthen its hand in negotiations with other countries over its nuclear ambitions.

But the North insists that it is the victim, and repeatedly accuses the South of preparing for war by holding military drills on the border.

Kim Yong-chun, quoted by state news agency KCNA, said the North was "getting fully prepared to launch a sacred war of justice", and also threatened to use a "nuclear deterrent".

Despite possessing enough plutonium to create a bomb, the North is not thought to have succeeded in building a nuclear weapon.

International talks over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions halted in April 2009, when the North walked out and expelled UN nuclear inspectors.

The US has refused to resume the talks until North Korea recommits to its past promises to give up its nuclear-weapons programme.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12072334