NK rules out talks with S. Korea, US

By Yi Whan-woo

Neither South nor North Korea has made the first move in the latest round of a war of words between the two nations, with each side blaming the other for a continuing stalemate in dialogue.

At the moment, it appears unlikely that the Pyongyang will talk to Seoul and Washington anytime soon. And if there were any doubts remaining about this, North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Ja Song-nam said on Saturday in the U.N. building in New York that there will be no dialogue between the two Koreas and between Pyongyang and Washington.

The totalitarian regime has mobilized its big guns to criticize President Park Geun-hye about her recent U.N. address on seeking international support for inter-Korean unification efforts in New York.

Firing volleys of criticism were the National Defense Commission (NDC), Pyongyang’s supreme policy-making body, and two other organizations affiliated with the communist regime’s ruling party _ the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) and the Rodong Sinmun.

“President Park will pay the price for her’ provocative and unacceptable speech,” they said.

In her U.N. General Assembly speech, Park called for an end to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and for improvements to human rights. She said such efforts will contribute to inter-Korea unification and peace in the region.

On Sunday, Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of Workers’ Party, said her speech will “lead to extreme calamity.”

It said its nuclear weapons are means of self defense against South Korea and the U.S.

On Saturday, the NDC denounced Park a “the worst traitor of all kinds.” It said it would not regard her as a partner for inter-Korean dialogue.

The President referred to German unification as a model to bring peace on the Korean Peninsula in her U.N. speech. The NDC said such remarks revealed “Park’s greed toward tearing down North Korea.”.

CPRF, an offshoot of the Workers’ Party, handles inter-Korean issues. It said that Park’s speech was a form of “provocative action that puts inter-Korean relations on the brink.”

According to Jang, North Korea will not hold inter-Korean dialogue as well Pyongyang-Washington talks temporarily because both South Korea and the U.S. turned down its offer for dialogue.

He referred to Seoul and Washington’s denial to allow North Korea to participate in high-level talks in New York, Tuesday. Hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the countries also including Japan and Australia condemned Pyongyang’s human rights violations during a meeting held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Meanwhile, Glen Davies, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, urged Pyongyang on Sunday to get back to the “path of denuclearization.”

Davies is visiting Beijing as a part of his Asia trip, including South Korea and Japan, to discuss six-party talks with his counterparts there.

Ambassador Ja‘s remarks come at a time when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un missed the Supreme People’s Assembly, the communist’s parliament, triggering speculation about what happened to him. Experts speculate that his health problems have worsened, but rule out any challenge to his power. On at least two public occasions, he was seen limping.

Kim delivered a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday through North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong, according to Ban’s office. It did not disclose details of the letter.

Ri is Pyongyang’s first minister-level official to attend the U.N. meeting in 15 years. Ban thanked him for attendance during their meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, the U.N. said.