"I think it's a very good lesson in dealing with North Korea; peaceful means do not work with a country like North Korea," said Lee Jung-hoon, a professor of Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies.
Last Wednesday, the day Saddam's rule ended in Baghdad, the UN Security Council met to discuss the North's nuclear stance but did not issue a statement urging Pyongyang to fall into line, because of opposition from China and Russia.
The North Korean spokesman said Pyongyang demanded direct talks to gauge whether the US had the political will to give up "its hostile policy" toward the North.
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