N. Korea seeks 'peaceful solution'
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Editorials call for further strengthening of the North's armed forces.
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SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) -- North Korea wants to resolve the current nuclear crisis peacefully through dialogue, but still puts a top priority on increasing its military strength, state media say in a joint New Year's Day editorial.
The remarks, carried by the communist state's three leading newspapers Thursday, came just days after a Chinese official said Pyongyang had agreed to attend fresh six-way talks on defusing the crisis.
Exact dates for the meeting have yet to be decided.
"It is our invariable principled stand to seek a negotiated peaceful solution to the nuclear issue between the DPRK and the U.S," the joint editorial said.
DPRK stands for the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea, the state's official name.
The editorial also urged further strengthening of the country's military power, saying Pyongyang would react to any hard-line policy from its opponents.
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"The enemies will suffer inescapable blows if they impose a war of any form upon the DPRK anytime," it said, without identifying who the enemies mean.
The crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions erupted in October 2002 when Washington said the North had admitted to pursuing a weapons program in breach of international conventions.
In August 2003 a first round of six-party talks to resolve the vexed issue, bringing together the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and host China, ended inconclusively.
Thursday's joint editorial urged the nation to pursue rapid economic and technological growth so as to build a prosperous nation, and to broaden its diplomatic ties.
"We will in the future, too, develop our relations with various countries of the world in the idea of independence, peace and friendship and make positive efforts to build a new peaceful and independent world," the papers said.
North Korea's economy is considered to be close to collapse, with the country reliant on outside food aid to feed its 23 million people.
Its economy suffers from a lack of energy, basic foodstuffs and transport infrastructure. Additionally, it is burdened by massive military spending under the rule of its reclusive leader Kim Jong-il.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
