March 01, 2016•Update: March 04, 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
North Korea lambasted Seoul's latest denuclearization demands Tuesday, referring to recent remarks from South Korea's government as "reckless”.
The South has released numerous statements condemning Pyongyang's weapon ambitions – the North is expected to be hit by strengthened United Nations (UN) Security Council sanctions this week for defying the international community this year with both a rocket launch and a fourth ever nuclear test.
A commentary piece published by North Korea's official KCNA news agency honed in on Seoul's insistence that any potential peace treaty would depend on the reclusive state's denuclearization.
The two sides never signed such an accord after the 1950-53 Korean War – instead a ceasefire was agreed between the North and an American representative of the UN Command.
As South Korea's closest ally, the United States still retains wartime operational control of the country and has nearly 30,000 military personnel stationed there.
The KCNA criticized Seoul for allowing South Korea to be converted "into the biggest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the Far East."
Although there are actually none permanently deployed in the South, the allies have demonstrated U.S. force with nuclear-capable B-52 and F-22 flyovers during the last few weeks.
"Peace will never settle in the Korean Peninsula as long as the south (sic) Korean puppet group is hell-bent on confrontation," read the KCNA's English-language commentary.
But Seoul's Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo maintained Tuesday that "now is the time to focus on pressuring North Korea so it will denuclearize."
He met with visiting Chinese Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei, who called for cooperation on new sanctions against North Korea according to the South's ministry.
China has been seen to have become increasingly frustrated with its traditional ally Pyongyang for ignoring global restraints on its nuclear and ballistic missile development.
