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Armitage: North Korea to Test Atomic Bomb
Stewart Stogel, NewsMax.com's senior U.N. correspondent, files this report from New York City. If the White House has any ideas of reducing tensions with North Korea over its nuclear program, those plans could be dashed after a Tuesday address by a North Korean official at the United Nations General Assembly.
Published reports on Tuesday, quoting South Korean intelligence sources, said North Korea was all but set to proceed with a "detonation" of an atomic device within the year.
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, traveling in Seoul, told reporters that he thought a test explosion of a North Korean atomic bomb by year's end "was better than 50/50." Speaking to U.N. delegates, North Korea's deputy foreign minister, Choe Su Hon, began his speech by blasting the Bush administration: "The unilateralism and high-handed acts of the superpower are ever becoming so reckless as to trample down the principles on the respect for the sovereign equality of all states . . .
"The threats and high-handed acts of the superpower are evermore undisguised towards the DPRK [North Korea] as its target."
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Associated Press reports that Hon has also rejected further talks on North Korea's nuclear program, blaming the United States for a stalemate in the discussions. Choe called the situation on the Korean penninsula "touch and go" and described the prevailing atmosphere as "critical."
The minister also took time to complain about the economic war the United States has waged against Pyongyang: "If there is anything the United States is in favor of, it is the aggravated tension on the Korean peninsula to be used as a pretext for reinforcing its military forces in the northeast Asian region." Washington has repeatedly complained about North Korean moves in counterfeiting U.S. currency and the Federal Reserve Bank has begun moving against financial institutions that have assisted Pyongyang.
It has also blocked any North Korean interaction within the Federal Reserve system.
The pressure on North Korea is expected to increase with the recent election of Shinzo Abe as Japanese prime minister.
Abe, a well-known conservative in Japanese politics, is believed to want to align Tokyo's policy with North Korea more closely with the hard-line approach of the Bush administration.
Choe took the opportunity to "welcome" the new prime minister by warning Tokyo on its campaign to gain a permanent seat on the Security Council: "With regard to the expansion of permanent membership, a country like Japan, the war criminal which invaded Asian countries and committed a massacre of innocent people, but has been distorting its aggressive history instead of liquidating it, should never be allowed to become a permanent member of the Security Council."
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton refused to comment on the North Korean address. However, at the end of the day, diplomats from Tokyo and Pyongyang could not resist an opportunity to shoot some arrows during the General Assembly's right of reply: The Japanese delegate, Takahiro Shinyo, said: "The fact remains Japan has been a peace-loving nation and is committed to the goals of the United Nations through a variety of means since it joined this august organ more than 50 years ago." To this, the North Korean delegate shot back: "The threats from Japan come from the distortion and embellishment of its crime-woven history, denial and distortion of its aggression and crimes agaisnt humanity committed in the past and is intended to be revived yet again. ... Japan, as a junior ally and servant of the U.S., executes the U.S. aggressive policy towards Asia ... and originates from the tricky and cunning intentions of Japan to realize its purpose with the help of its master -- namely the U.S. "The Korean people have a deep-seated grudge toward Japan, which has to paid off with blood ... Japan is dangerous because while it is rich in wealth, it is very poor in terms of morality and ethics." On that note, the U.N. General Assembly adjourned for the day.
Editor's note:
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