Korean Peninsula on brink of War : Pyonyang by Soo-Jeong Lee. Seoul 2:27pm 23rd Mar, 2003   UN urges talks to diffuse N Korea crisis By Andrew Ward in Seoul. Published by The Financial Times.    Published: March 23 2003    A United Nations envoy has warned that the crisis surrounding North Korea's nuclear weapons programme could escalate into war unless Pyongyang and Washington hold talks to ease the dispute.    Maurice Strong, aide to Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, said the longer dialogue was postponed, the greater the risk that the crisis could spiral out of control.    "There is no need for war, yet war could occur if the parties cannot find a way to resolve their differences across the table diplomatically," said Mr Strong. "Until those discussions occur, the risks that the process will degenerate, without the intent of either party, into a conflict still remain."    Mr Strong's comments, which followed talks with North Korean officials in Pyongyang, increased pressure on the US to accept the communist state's demand for talks to negotiate a non-aggression pact.    Washington has said it will engage with North Korea only within a multilateral forum, and has rejected Pyongyang's plea for bilateral talks.    Mr Strong said North Korea was watching the war in Iraq "with deep concern", worried that it could be a future target of US military action.    US President George W. Bush last year named North Korea alongside Iraq in an "axis of evil" seeking weapons of mass destruction.    North Korea yesterday said a month-long joint US-South Korean military exercise under way in the South was "driving the situation in Korea to the brink of war". Employing its usual brand of bellicose rhetoric, North Korea's state news agency said: "This goes to prove that the US scenario to provoke a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula has entered a reckless phase of implementation."    However, Mr Strong said he was hopeful that war in Korea would be avoided because both sides had expressed their desire for a peaceful solution.    Analysts believe the risk of war in Korea is low as both sides have too much to lose. For North Korea, it would end in almost certain defeat. For the US and South Korea, it would result in hundreds of thousands of deaths and economic chaos.    However, there is concern that a quick US victory in Iraq could bolster the argument of those in the US administration who are believed to favour air strikes against North Korea's nuclear facilities.    Diplomatic efforts to ease the crisis received a setback over the weekend, when North Korea cancelled talks with South Korea planned for this week. "When our dialogue partner is threatening us with a dagger, we have no option but to conclude that we must delay the talks," said North Korean state radio.    Diplomats in Seoul said the decision probably reflected North Korea's anger about the South's support for the US-led invasion of Iraq. The routine talks were scheduled to be held from Wednesday to discuss economic co-operation.    March 23 2003. Korean Peninsula on brink of War : Pyonyang by Soo-Jeong Lee.Seoul. Published by The Age.    North Korea has warned that the situation on the Korean Peninsula was deteriorating to the "brink of a nuclear war" because of American-South Korean war games.    In its first official response to the war on Baghdad, North Korea called the military action "a grave encroachment upon sovereignty". It also accused the US of planning to attack North Korea after Iraq.    "The violation of Iraq's sovereignty already started with demanding disarmament by inspection and gradually led to war," said a spokesman at North Korea's foreign ministry told KCNA, the communist state's official news agency.    The spokesman said the war in Iraq should "compel (North Korea) to do all it can to defend itself". Separately, North Korea criticised South Korea's decision to put its military on heightened alert as "an undisguised challenge and intolerable hostility".    South Korea said on Friday its military went on heightened alert to guard against possible North Korean moves to use the distraction of war in Iraq to increase tensions on the Korean Peninsula. But it said the precautionary move did not involve significant troop movements.    North Korea's Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said: "We cannot but express deep concern about the irrevocable adverse impact such reckless sabre-rattling going on in South Korea will have on peace on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean relations."    But South Korea's unification ministry said the war in Iraq should not have a negative impact on inter-Korean relations. "It is regrettable North Korea doubts our determination on reconciliation and co-operation on the Korean Peninsula."    South Korean Defence Minister Cho Young-kil said North Korea was conducting air raid drills across the country to heighten vigilance. But he said he saw "little chance of high-intensity military provocations" from the communist state.    Tensions have run high in the region since October, when the US said North Korea admitted having a secret nuclear program. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun sought to ease foreign investors' concerns over the tensions. "There will not be a war, or any chaotic situation that resembles war" on the peninsula, he said.    KCNA said the US was conducting war exercises to test its capabilities of fighting two wars simultaneously. The US, which has said it has no plans to invade North Korea, says its regular military exercises with South Korea are purely defensive.    - AP Visit the related web page
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