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N. Korea: No talks means war
PYONGYANG, North Korea -- North Korea is sticking to its demand for direct face-to-face talks with the United States, saying Washington's push for a multilateral dialogue only makes the prospect of armed conflict more likely. In a commentary Tuesday in the state-owned Rodong Sinmun newspaper North Korea accused the Bush administration of "evading its responsibility" for current tensions over Pyongyang's alleged nuclear weapons program. Upping the political pressure on Pyongyang "would only make a clash unavoidable" the North Korean KCNA news agency quoted the commentary as saying. The warning came a day after North Korea conducted its second missile test in two weeks, firing a short-range anti-ship missile into the sea off its east coast. (Missile test) The tests and North Korea's continued bellicose rhetoric have caused increased nervousness among North Korea's neighbors over Pyongyang's military intentions, especially with world attention focused on a looming conflict with Iraq. Washington meanwhile has warned the North Korean administration not to think that it has been distracted by the Iraq crisis. Last week 20 heavy bombers were ordered deployed to a U.S. airbase on the Pacific Island of Guam -- part of what defense planners said was a "message" to North Korea. 'Bad practice'The Bush administration says it wants to begin dialogue with North Korea as part of a broader regional multilateral approach because the North's efforts to build nuclear weapons have regional ramifications. Speaking at the weekend Secretary of State Colin Powell told CNN that talking directly to North Korea would be a "bad practice" because the issue involved other nations in the region. (Talks 'eventually') His comments were echoed by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice who told ABC that any incentives for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program would "come from the collective weight of the international community, not just from the United States alone." Pyongyang, however, denies even having a nuclear weapons program and blames the hostile policy of the United States for pushing the two countries towards war. The only way the ongoing tensions can be resolved, it says, is through direct bilateral talks. "By calling for multilateral talks the U.S. means letting other countries stand in its stead," Tuesday's commentary said, adding: "This is not the stand and attitude to solve the problem but an act of evading its responsibility."
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