09 May 2016•Update: 11 May 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korea declared Monday it would "never accept" North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, countering Pyongyang's official adoption of a policy aimed at developing both nukes and its heavily sanctioned economy.
The North's state-run KCNA news agency reported earlier in the day that the ongoing 7th Workers' Party Congress had witnessed a decision to pursue "the strategic line of simultaneously pushing forward the economic construction and the building of nuclear force and boost self-defensive nuclear force both in quality and quantity”.
As the congress entered its fourth day, onlookers were being kept guessing as to when it would wrap up -- although past form suggests a conclusion early this week, the authoritarian state has not held such a party gathering since 1980.
A South Korean defense ministry spokesperson told a Monday briefing that "the government will continue to make efforts to push the North to give up its nuclear ambitions through strong sanctions and pressure."
North Korea has struggled with food scarcity for years, but Pyongyang is widely accused of ignoring the needs of its people by funneling resources towards the development of nuclear technology and missiles.
Echoing comments out of Seoul over the weekend, the ministry spokesperson saw "no sincerity at all" in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's proposal during the congress for friendly dialogue, local news agency Yonhap reported.
South Korea and its ally the United States have long called on Pyongyang to commit to denuclearization as a condition for talks.
The Koreas never reached a peace treaty after the 1950-53 Korean War and tensions have continued for decades -- including when the North claimed earlier this year that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, drawing strengthened United Nations punitive measures.
