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N. Korea seeks non-attack pledgePyongyang calls for face-to-face talks
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea has reiterated its call for a non-aggression treaty with the United States, but also issued a veiled threat to "bring about harm" to critics of its missile program, according to South Korea's official Yonhap News Agency. "As the Bush administration keeps talking about having no intention of attacking North Korea, or being able to guarantee our security, there is no reason for Washington not to be able to put such promises into a statement that has legal characteristics," according to the editorial, published in the North's official newspaper and released by Yonhap. The editorial also said this was the "responsibility and the ethical role of the United States," which pushed the nuclear problem to such a serious state. North Korea says it had no choice to restart its Yongbyon nuclear plant because the U.S. stopped its shipments of heavy fuel oil. Missile programWashington says it stopped the shipments because Pyongyang admitted to having a nuclear weapons program -- a violation of the 1994 agreement -- a claim North Korea denies. The editorial also addressed critics of its missile program. "Our missile plan is strictly for defensive purposes, and has peaceful characteristics, and does not threaten any country which honors our sovereignty," it said. "If our enemies keep talking about a missile threat, then this can only bring about harm to them." Earlier this month, Pyongyang threatened to lift a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests. Concerns have been raised about North Korea's missile development program, with some U.S. defense analysts saying it could roll out a missile capable of hitting the continental United States before 2015. According to Yonhap, the editorial went on to say, "The nuclear problem on the Korean peninsula can only be resolved with a non-aggression treaty that legally guarantees our security." "Dialogue between North Korea and the United States has to be done in the formal, where we and the United States sit face-to-face in a negotiation table and discuss all the relevant issues between our two countries." TalksNorth Korea has said in the past that it is willing to resolve U.S. security concerns if a non-aggression treaty is signed, but Washington has rejected that offer, demanding concrete steps to end its nuclear weapons program a condition for renewed talks. The North also blasted statements from high-level Washington officials that "emphasize dialogue with North Korea, but ironically also say they will not negotiate," calling it "stemming from arrogant attitudes." On Sunday, two U.S. officials denied a report that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney plan to target North Korean leader Kim Jong Il after resolving problems with Iraq. "Bush and Cheney want that guy's head on a platter," according to Seymour Hersh, quoting a U.S. intelligence official in a Jan. 27 article in The New Yorker. "I have no idea what Mr. Hersh is talking about," Secretary of State Colin Powell told CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. "I have been in every meeting with the president since this began to unfold, since the beginning of the administration, and the president has made it clear he wants this solved diplomatically." On NBC's Meet the Press, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice added, "The Bush administration -- and most especially the president -- reserves all of his options [on North Korea] to this very day." "But he believes that this is a situation that can best be resolved diplomatically. There is leverage here," Rice said.
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