|You are in: Asia-Pacific|
Tuesday, 18 February, 2003, 02:11 GMT
Full text: N Korea threatens truce withdrawal
Here is the full text of the statement carried by North Korean radio threatening to end the Korean War armistice:
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement in Korea.
For 50 long years, the Korean people have suffered the tragedy of national division and all sorts of indescribable pain due to the constant war threat and acute tension brought about by the unstable state of armistice, which is neither war nor peace.
Our people can no longer undergo such pain and tragedy and our patience has reached its limit.
The Armistice Agreement was originally signed in anticipation of a higher-level political meeting that was to be convened within three months after the Armistice Agreement was signed and effective, so as to guarantee a peaceful resolution of the Korean issue through discussions about withdrawing all foreign forces from Korea and a peaceful resolution of the Korean issue.
During the preliminary talks for convening a political meeting held at P'anmunjom in October 1953 which was held in accordance with the demand of Article 60 of the Armistice Agreement, the US delegate left the meeting place without any reason, and ruptured the preliminary talks.
The political meeting was never convened.
Thus, the way to a peaceful resolution of the Korean issue anticipated by the Armistice Agreement became blocked.
In less than five years since the armistice, the United States unilaterally abrogated all core clauses of the agreement that it deemed as being a hindrance to its illegal arms build-up and war preparations in South Korea and turned South Korea into the United States' military and nuclear base.
Since then, our people have been faced with yet another new challenge of nuclear threat.
At the same time, the United States violently infringed on Article 15 of the Armistice Agreement prohibiting any form of blockade against the DPRK, unilaterally drew the so-called Northern Limit Line in our country's West Sea [Yellow Sea], and has continued a naval blockade against us for decades.
The Armistice Agreement has, in effect, become a blank piece of paper without any effect or significance.
Today the Armistice Agreement is actually being used, not to prevent the recurrence of hostile acts on the Korean peninsula, but in the United States' hostile policy towards the DPRK [North Korea].
In particular, what we cannot but take a serious view on is that today, when the Korean peninsula's situation has become extremely acute because of the US nuclear racket, the United States ignores the Armistice Agreement which prohibits arms build-up against the other signatory of the Armistice Agreement, and is about to reinforce and deploy huge forces including aircraft carriers and strategic bombers on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity, and that the United States is putting into practice its plan for pre-emptive attack on our Republic, every minute, by fiercely conducting various surprise attack exercises aimed at us and by planning to send many troops and operational equipment to South Korea under the pretext of holding the joint military exercise combining the Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration Exercise and the Foal Eagle Exercise which begins on 16 March.
The situation is growing more serious each day.
This means that it will conduct naval blockade operations, which are only seen to take place between warring states during a war, and this is virtually tantamount to a solemn declaration of war.
All facts clearly show how ridiculous and hypocritical is the US sophism that peace is ensured in Korea because of the Armistice Agreement.
The grave situation created by the undisguised war acts committed by the United States in ignoring the Armistice Agreement, compels the KPA, the United States' battle counterpart, to urgently take all necessary steps to cope with it.
If the United States continues violating and abusing the Armistice Agreement as it pleases, there will be no need for us to remain uncomfortably bound to the Armistice Agreement.
The KPA P'anmunjom Mission is authorized to declare that if the United States gathers its forces on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity to attack us and take sanctions against us from anywhere, the KPA will regard this as an act of blockade against us, which is prohibited by the Armistice Agreement, and the KPA will be left with no option but to take a resolute step to abandon its commitment to implement the Armistice Agreement as a signatory to it and free itself from the binding force of all its provisions.
Future developments will entirely depend on the United States.
17 Feb 03 | Asia-Pacific
16 Feb 03 | Asia-Pacific
13 Feb 03 | Asia-Pacific
11 Dec 02 | Asia-Pacific
13 Feb 03 | Asia-Pacific
16 Feb 02 | Asia-Pacific
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Top Asia-Pacific stories now:
Links to more Asia-Pacific stories are at the foot of the page.
|E-mail this story to a friend|
Links to more Asia-Pacific stories
To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> | To BBC World Service>>
© MMIII | News Sources | Privacy