Wen meets NKorea's Kim amid bid to restart nuclear talks

NUKEWARS

This photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 4, 2009 shows Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (L) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (R) upon Wen's arrival at Pyongyang Airport. China and North Korea vowed on October 5, 2009 to bolster a bilateral relationship that is vital to the isolated North, in a sign they had patched up any discord over Pyongyang's nuclear programmes. Photo courtesy AFP

SKorea says NKorea has 100 sites linked to nuclear programme
South Korea knows of about 100 sites linked to North Korea's nuclear programme and has the capacity to strike them if an attack from the North is imminent, the defence minister said Monday. "There are about 100 sites related to the nuclear" programme, Kim Tae-Young told legislators during a parliamentary audit of his ministry's work. "We have a complete list of them," Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying. Kim expressed confidence his forces could hit any of them "if it is absolutely clear a North Korean offensive is imminent." Similar comments by Kim last month drew criticism from the North's official cabinet newspaper Minju Josun. The communist North and capitalist South have remained technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended only in an armistice and not a peace treaty. The North has conducted two atomic weapons tests since 2006. Separately, the defence ministry said the North is thought to have 13 types of viruses and germs which can be used in biological weapons, as well as up to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons. In a report to parliament, the ministry said the North has one of the world's largest stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. The list of diseases that could be caused by the biological weapons includes cholera, yellow fever, smallpox, eruptive typhus, typhoid fever and dysentery, it said. The assertion that the North has chemical and biological weapons, in addition to its nuclear and conventional weaponry, is not new. But Monday's report gave more details of the alleged biological arsenal. The International Crisis Group said in a report in June that the chemical weapons could be deliverable by artillery or missile to cause massive civilian casualties in South Korea. The Brussels-based think-tank said the stockpile includes between 2,500-5,000 tons of mustard gas, phosgene, blood agents, sarin and persistent nerve agents. The South's 655,000-strong military, backed up by 28,500 US troops, faces off against the North's 1.2-million-member armed forces.

by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) Oct 5, 2009
Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il late Monday amid efforts to bring Pyongyang back to nuclear disarmament talks, Beijing's state media reported.

"Premier Wen Jiabao held talks with North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-Il on Monday evening," Xinhua news agency said on its website, without providing further details.

Wen's high-profile three-day visit is officially described as a goodwill trip to attend celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of China-North Korea diplomatic relations.

But efforts to bring the North back to the six-nation disarmament talks chaired by China are high on the agenda. In April the North announced it was quitting the forum, and it staged its second nuclear test in May.

In Wen's talks Sunday with Premier Kim Yong-Il and other senior officials, the North again expressed willingness to achieve denuclearisation through "bilateral and multilateral dialogues," Pyongyang's state media reported.

The North, however, blamed the United States for the nuclear standoff and linked denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula to the pace of global atomic disarmament efforts.

Wen for his part said Sunday that "dialogue and consultation" is the only way to solve the Korean peninsula's nuclear issue, according to Xinhua.

While Beijing is Pyongyang's sole major ally and its major trade partner and energy supplier, the North's determination to develop nuclear weapons has strained ties.

China supported tougher United Nations sanctions imposed following the May nuclear test.

Kim Jong-Il personally hosted an elaborate red-carpet airport welcome for Wen Sunday, greeting him with a hug, in signs of the importance which Pyongyang places on its relations with Beijing.

But it was unclear whether the Chinese premier would be able to persuade the North to come back to the six-party forum, which also includes the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

The North has lately been stressing its claim that it needs atomic weapons as a shield against US hostility. It also seeks formal recognition as a nuclear-armed state, something Washington and Seoul have adamantly rejected.

A Chinese foreign ministry statement issued earlier Monday made no mention of nuclear disputes but made much of the friendship.

"History has proven that developing China-North Korea relations is in line with the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples and conducive to safeguarding regional peace and stability," said the statement, quoting Chinese President Hu Jintao and Wen.

"We are willing to work together with North Korea to... constantly push forward friendly and cooperative relations."

In the same statement Kim Jong-Il was quoted as calling the bilateral relationship "a common treasure."

"Consolidating and developing this friendship is the consistent position of our party and government," it quoted Kim and other leaders as saying, adding the two countries had made "great contributions" to maintaining regional and world peace.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency has predicted Kim could make an "important announcement" during Wen's visit.

It said he was expected to state willingness to give up nuclear weapons and make detailed suggestions, while delivering his position on whether he wants six-party talks or a different type of dialogue.

The North is pressing for bilateral talks with the US, which says such talks are possible only if the goal is to restart the six-party forum.

Wen earlier Monday toured a cemetery for Chinese soldiers who died fighting for the North in the 1950-53 war, Xinhua reported. Among those buried there is Mao Anying, son of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

The agency said Wen, the most senior Chinese figure to visit the North since President Hu in 2005, later held talks with Kim Yong-Nam, the parliament leader.

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NKorea diversifying threats against SKorea: president
Seoul (AFP) Oct 1, 2009
South Korea's leader urged the military Thursday to stay on guard against North Korea despite its recent peace overtures, saying the communist state is diversifying its threats against the South. "North Korea has heightened the crisis on the Korean peninsula with a rocket launch and a second nuclear test after making comments about a military confrontation," President Lee Myung-Bak told a pa ... read more

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