North Korea claimed it has bolstered its nuclear arsenal to prevent an invasion as its premier began a visit yesterday to China.
The trip comes on the heels of a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who urged Beijing to pressure the North to return to disarmament talks.
Meanwhile, a South Korean official called on the Bush administration to clarify its intelligence after it reportedly exaggerated claims that North Korea sold nuclear materials to Libya.
The Washington Post reported on Sunday that US officials told its negotiating partners that the North had exported material directly to Libya, but omitted mention of intelligence showing that the supplies first went to Pakistan with no evidence that the North knew it would be resold to Libya.
The US allegation of direct sales to Libya had been aimed at convincing countries in the six-nation disarmament talks -- which also include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea -- that they needed to press the North harder for a resolution to the two-year-old nuclear standoff.
That claim is also widely believed to have been part of the reason the North declared on Feb. 10 that it had nuclear weapons and would indefinitely boycott the deadlocked disarmament talks.
Im Jong-suk, spokesman for South Korea's ruling Uri Party, called on Washington to clarify its information on the North.
"If the United States keeps making propaganda aimed at North Korea or uses a different card such as raising the issue at the UN Security Council instead of the six-party talks, this will be an unfortunate choice for solving the North Korea nuclear crisis and peace on the Korean Peninsula," Im said in a statement yesterday.
"If alliances are based on the trust of shared information, this could cause severe problems between South Korea and the United States," he said.
On Monday, Rice said in Beijing that Washington would "have to look at other options" if the North doesn't return to the nuclear talks. She didn't elaborate, but they would likely include seeking sanctions through the Security Council.
Although Rice has also said the nuclear standoff "cannot go on forever," she has repeatedly emphasized the US has no plans to attack the North.
Despite Rice's reassurance, North Korea said late on Monday that it had bolstered its nuclear arsenal to prevent the alleged threat of an invasion.
"We have taken a serious measure by increasing nuclear arms arsenal in preparation for any invasion by enemies," the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station said in a commentary, according to a report by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The North has frequently claimed it would increase its nuclear deterrent in response to the perceived threat of invasion by the US, but the Monday announcement appeared to be the first time Pyongyang has claimed to have actually done so.
Still, efforts to resume the disarmament talks continued.
North Korean Premier Pak Pong-ju yesterday began a visit to China, the North's last major ally. Pak was to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Chinese officials say they will discuss the nuclear standoff with Pak, but haven't given details. Washington and Seoul have been calling on China to pressure North Korea into returning to the negotiating table.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS