North Korea ready to develop relations, ensure stability ‘as a responsible nuke state’

This is from Russian TV so of course it must be taken with a grain of salt.  But the headline could have been written by the north Korean propagandists because as we have discussed and predicted this is exactly what we should expect the north's new narrative to be.  And I wonder if Kim Young-nam is not putting out the initial trial balloon and laying the ground work for the north's new negotiating strategy.

V/R
Dave

North Korea ready to develop relations, ensure stability ‘as a responsible nuke state’

http://rt.com/news/north-korea-nuke-state-844/

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Published time: April 14, 2013 18:37

North Korea is ready to develop peaceful relations with world nations – but only as a nuke state, the DPRK’s nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam said on Sunday. This comes as the US, Japan, and China call for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

North Korea, which, despite tension, is getting ready to celebrate the birthday of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung, said it was ready to conduct relations “based on the ideals of peace and sovereignty” and contribute to security and stability in Asia, and in the whole world “as a responsible nuclear-weapon state.”

However, North Korea’s Kim Yong-nam pointed out that not every nation is worthy their friendship, saying the country’s “invincible defense forces” armed with strengthening “nuclear deterrence forces” will“unfold a total fight against the USA, acting in accordance with a wartime scenario.”

“We will expand in quantity our nuclear weapons capability, which is the treasure of a unified Korea... that we would never barter at any price,” Kim Yong-nam stressed.

Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday asserted the United States is willing to“reach out” to North Korea – as long as it “takes action” towards giving up its nuclear program.

“I think it is really unfortunate that there has been so much focus and attention in the media and elsewhere on the subject of war, when what we really ought to be talking about is the possibility of peace. And I think there are those possibilities,” Kerry said during his Sunday visit to Tokyo where he is meeting his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kishida reiterated the American condition for talks, saying both Japan and the US “cannot allow North Korea in any way to possess nuclear weapons.”

North Korea should cease its “provocative speech and behavior,” Kishida stressed, urging it to take“concrete action toward denuclearization.”

Just the day before, China also said it is “firmly committed to upholding peace and stability and advancing the denuclearization process on the Korean peninsula.”

“There is no question in my mind that China is very serious – very serious – about denuclearizing,” Kerry noted after his Saturday talks with top Chinese officials.

He also warned the North Korean government would be making a “huge mistake” if it were to launch a missile as he stopped in South Korea, where some 28,000 US troops are stationed.

(Continued at the link below)

http://rt.com/news/north-korea-nuke-state-844/

Kerry Says Any Talks Rely on Steps by North Korea

Unfortunately if the first move is the requirement for the north to abandon its nuclear program there will never be any talks.  The north will never give up its nuclear weapons and will probably never again agree to even talk about giving them up. Despite statements in the international community to never recognize the north as a nuclear power from here on out the north will very likely try to act like a nuclear power and demand that it be treated as one.  The only way it might come to the table is if there is an offer of some kind of strategic arms limitation talks in which nuclear power negotiate on an even playing field (in the north's calculation of course because as we all know the north has about as much equivalent nuclear power as a single blade of grass on that level playing field – but it continues to be able to hold the region hostage to its diplomatic nuclear blackmail).

V/R

Dave

Kerry Says Any Talks Rely on Steps by North Korea

By MICHAEL R. GORDON

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/world/asia/kerry-says-any-talks-rely-on-steps-by-north-korea.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print

TOKYO — Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the United States was prepared to reach out to Kim Jong-un of North Korea if he made the first move to abandon hisnuclear weapons program.

“We need the appropriate moment, appropriate circumstance,” Mr. Kerry told reporters in Tokyo.

While he did not say specifically what steps would be needed, according to the long-standing United States position they might include a public commitment to denuclearization and such measures as halting the production of nuclear material, refraining from testing missiles and ceasing threats to attack its neighbors.

Over the past week, there has been considerable attention on the United States’ vows to militarily defend its Asian allies and its warning that North Korea should forgo a test firing a Musudan medium-range missile.

But the United States has also canceled military exercises and toned down its statements in recent weeks to try to create an atmosphere in which talks with North Korea might begin, a theme that Mr. Kerry emphasized on Sunday.

“What we really ought to be talking about is the possibility of peace,” he said in a joint news conference on Sunday with Fumio Kishid, Japan’s foreign minister. “And I think there are those possibilities.”

Sketching out his approach in his meeting later in the day with reporters, Mr. Kerry said that before talks could begin, North Korea needed to take tangible steps to demonstrate that it was serious about denuclearization.

But it seemed unlikely that that precondition for talks would be met by North Korea, given the country’s announcements that it considers itself to be a nuclear state and its dedication to a “military-first” stance that channels resources to its armed forces.

The Obama administration has been willing to conduct direct talks with Iranian officials and sought early in Mr. Obama’s first term to forge a constructive relationship with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. But the White House, in a policy that some have called strategic patience, has remained unwilling to meet openly with top North Korean officials unless they first committed to denuclearization.

Mr. Kerry indicated there were some circumstances in which he could imagine sending a representative to talk to North Korean leaders or engaging directly with the North Koreans through a diplomatic back channel.

“It may be that somebody will be asked to sit down,” he said.

“I am open personally to exploring other avenues; I particularly want to hear what the Chinese have to say,” Mr. Kerry said. “I am not going to be so stuck in the mud that an opportunity to actually get something done is flagrantly wasted.”

(Continued at the link below)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/world/asia/kerry-says-any-talks-rely-on-steps-by-north-korea.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print