World

N. Korea: 'Brink Of War'

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

December 2, 1998 / 6:59 AM EST / CBS

North Korea on Wednesday bitterly accused the U.S. of taking a hardline stance over Pyongyang's suspected nuclear site and said Washington was pushing the situation to the "brink of war."

"Now that the U.S. imperialists, having thrown off the mask of 'dialogue' and 'negotiation', are bringing the situation to the brink of war, we solemnly declare...that our revolutionary armed forces will never pardon the challenge of the U.S. imperialist aggression forces but answer it with an annihilating blow," said a spokesman for the General Staff of the North Korean People's Army (KPA).

In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Tokyo, the North Korean spokesman said Pyongyang was ready to respond to any attacks by the United States.

"We have our own operation plan. It must be clearly known that there is no limit to the strike of our People's Army and that on this planet there is no room for escaping the strike," the North Korean military spokesman said.

The communist state's news media frequently publish saber-rattling rhetoric. But it was unusual for its military, the most hardline organ of the North Korean regime, to make a public statement, Soth Korean officials said.

Tensions have grown along the last Cold War frontier since North Korea's Aug. 31 missile test over Japan and its refusal to grant access to what Washington suspects is a possible underground nuclear site near Yongbyon, where a Soviet-era nuclear power plant has been mothballed under a 1994 agreement between North Korea and the United States.

"Nowadays, the U.S. imperialists are loudly crying that 'tensions have been heightened' owing to the DPRK (North Korea)'s 'underground nuclear facility' and its launch of an artificial satellite," the North Korean spokesman said.

"What they seek in this is to find a pretext to ignite the train of war," he said.

A U.S. official visited North Korea last month but failed to persuade Pyongyang to allow an inspection of a suspected underground nuclear site. U.S. officials said they rejected a demand for $300 million in "reparations" to visit the site.

The United States says failure to secure access to the site could jeopardize the 1994 nuclear accord under which Washington agreed to provide Pyongyang with two advanced nuclear reactors and alternative energy supplies in returning for the North's freezing of its nuclear program.

During his visit to South Korea last month, President Clinton urged Pyongyang to abandon its efforts to develop ballistic missiles and chemical and biological weapons and warned it not to underestimate the U.S. commitment to South Korea.

The North Korea military spokesman also issued a stern warning on Wednesday that it was not only the United States but also rival South Korea and Japan that could be the targets of North Korean attacks.

"It must also be realized tat the target of our strike in the war is not only the U.S. imperialist aggression forces...but also the South Korean puppets who are willing to serve as their bullet-shield and Japan and all others that offer bases or act as servants behind the scenes," the spokesman said.

"We neither want nor avoid a war. If a war is imposed, we will never miss the opportunity," he said.

"To answer fire with fire is a character of our revolutionary army and its unique mode of counteraction," he added.

North Korea issued the statement hours after a Japanese government spokesman said Tokyo had intelligence reports that Pyongyang might be preparing for the possible launch of another ballistic missile.

Asked whether Japan had information that North Korea could test-fire another missile soon, Akitaka Saiki, deputy spokesman for Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, said: "We do have some intelligence reports about such movements on that part of the Korean peninsula."

He said, however, that it was not clear when the Stalinist state could move ahead with a fresh round of test-firing of its missiles.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that Tokyo had been warned by the United States that North Korea may test-fire another missile, perhaps before the end of this year.

Reclusive North Korea launched what Japan believes was a long-range ballistic missile on August 31 which flew over northern Japan.

North Korea has steadfastly maintained that what it launched was a rocket used to "successfully" put a satellite into orbit.

Wednesday's statement by North Korea comes two days before the United States and North Korea are set to resume talks about the underground North Korean site suspected of being used to produce nuclear weapons.

In the talks, scheduled for Friday through next Tuesday in New York and Washington, the United States will demand unconditional inspections of the underground project.

The North's 1.1 million-strong military is the world's fifth largest. It forms the backbone of the North Korean government, with leader Kim Jong Il ruling the country as the head of the military.