North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visits the Eunheung collective farm in North Pyongan province in North Korea, in this undated picture released on November 2, 2009 by North Korea's official news agency KCNA. KCNA did not state expressly the date when the picture was taken.
The North did not elaborate on the threat to "go its own way". But after quitting the six-party forum in April, it vowed to restart plants at Yongbyon which can produce weapons-grade plutonium.
In May it staged a second atomic weapons test, the second since 2006.
"North Korea is now telling the US that it will further bolster its nuclear deterrent unless Washington comes out early for bilateral talks," Professor Koh Yu-Hwan, of South Korea's Dongguk University, told AFP.
Seoul officials quoted by Yonhap news agency said the North has apparently reopened the plant which reprocesses plutonium from spent fuel rods at its main nuclear complex.
"The reprocessing factory appears to have been restored to its earlier condition," the agency quoted a senior defence official as saying on condition of anonymity, citing satellite photos.
Pyongyang's comments came as its deputy nuclear negotiator, Ri Gun, wrapped up a US visit during which he held rare talks with Sung Kim, special US envoy to the six-party forum.
After months of bellicose moves including a series of missile tests, the North has lately been making peace overtures and has invited the US special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, to visit Pyongyang.
In early October leader Kim Jong-Il told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao his country was ready to return to six-party negotiations, but only after it has talked directly to the United States to improve "hostile relations".
"As the DPRK (North Korea) was magnanimous enough to clarify the stand that it is possible to hold multilateral talks including the six-party talks depending on the talks with the US, now is the US turn," a foreign ministry spokesman told Pyongyang's official news agency.
"If the US is not ready to sit at a negotiating table with the DPRK, it will go its own way."
The North has long sought direct high-level talks with the United States, and is unenthusiastic about the multilateral framework which also involves South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.
Washington says it is open to bilateral talks but these would be limited to bringing Pyongyang back to the six-party framework. It says it has made no decision on any visit by Bosworth.
The North's spokesman played down Ri Gun's meeting in New York, saying it was not a preliminary to bilateral talks. He reiterated the country's stance that it was forced to develop a nuclear deterrent to counter US hostility.
"If the hostile relations between the DPRK and the US are settled and confidence is built between them, there will be meaningful progress in realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula."
The North complained it had suffered a "huge economic loss" from nuclear disarmament deals, firstly with the United States in 1994 and then in 2005 and 2007 with all other members of the six-party talks.
It said it never received the two light-water reactors promised in 1994 in return for shutting down Yongbyon.
That deal collapsed in 2002 when the United States accused the North of operating a secret bomb-making programme based on enriched uranium, and the light-water reactors were never completed.
The North's spokesman also complained that his country had received little economic reward in return for the latest shutdown of Yongbyon in 2007 under a six-party deal.
The North received 745,000 tons of heavy oil worth around 310 million dollars before the deal stalled, according to a South Korean report in October.
Monday, November 02, 2009
DTN News: North Korea Presses U.S. For Talks On Nuclear Stand-Off
DTN News: North Korea Presses U.S. For Talks On Nuclear Stand-Off
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - November 3, 2009: North Korea on Monday pressed the United States to hold direct talks on ending their nuclear stand-off and vowed to "go its own way" if Washington refuses to do so.
Repeating an earlier offer, the foreign ministry in the hardline communist state said successful bilateral talks could lead to a resumption of stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations.North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visits the Eunheung collective farm in North Pyongan province in North Korea, in this undated picture released on November 2, 2009 by North Korea's official news agency KCNA. KCNA did not state expressly the date when the picture was taken.
The North did not elaborate on the threat to "go its own way". But after quitting the six-party forum in April, it vowed to restart plants at Yongbyon which can produce weapons-grade plutonium.
In May it staged a second atomic weapons test, the second since 2006.
"North Korea is now telling the US that it will further bolster its nuclear deterrent unless Washington comes out early for bilateral talks," Professor Koh Yu-Hwan, of South Korea's Dongguk University, told AFP.
Seoul officials quoted by Yonhap news agency said the North has apparently reopened the plant which reprocesses plutonium from spent fuel rods at its main nuclear complex.
"The reprocessing factory appears to have been restored to its earlier condition," the agency quoted a senior defence official as saying on condition of anonymity, citing satellite photos.
Pyongyang's comments came as its deputy nuclear negotiator, Ri Gun, wrapped up a US visit during which he held rare talks with Sung Kim, special US envoy to the six-party forum.
After months of bellicose moves including a series of missile tests, the North has lately been making peace overtures and has invited the US special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, to visit Pyongyang.
In early October leader Kim Jong-Il told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao his country was ready to return to six-party negotiations, but only after it has talked directly to the United States to improve "hostile relations".
"As the DPRK (North Korea) was magnanimous enough to clarify the stand that it is possible to hold multilateral talks including the six-party talks depending on the talks with the US, now is the US turn," a foreign ministry spokesman told Pyongyang's official news agency.
"If the US is not ready to sit at a negotiating table with the DPRK, it will go its own way."
The North has long sought direct high-level talks with the United States, and is unenthusiastic about the multilateral framework which also involves South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.
Washington says it is open to bilateral talks but these would be limited to bringing Pyongyang back to the six-party framework. It says it has made no decision on any visit by Bosworth.
The North's spokesman played down Ri Gun's meeting in New York, saying it was not a preliminary to bilateral talks. He reiterated the country's stance that it was forced to develop a nuclear deterrent to counter US hostility.
"If the hostile relations between the DPRK and the US are settled and confidence is built between them, there will be meaningful progress in realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula."
The North complained it had suffered a "huge economic loss" from nuclear disarmament deals, firstly with the United States in 1994 and then in 2005 and 2007 with all other members of the six-party talks.
It said it never received the two light-water reactors promised in 1994 in return for shutting down Yongbyon.
That deal collapsed in 2002 when the United States accused the North of operating a secret bomb-making programme based on enriched uranium, and the light-water reactors were never completed.
The North's spokesman also complained that his country had received little economic reward in return for the latest shutdown of Yongbyon in 2007 under a six-party deal.
The North received 745,000 tons of heavy oil worth around 310 million dollars before the deal stalled, according to a South Korean report in October.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visits the Eunheung collective farm in North Pyongan province in North Korea, in this undated picture released on November 2, 2009 by North Korea's official news agency KCNA. KCNA did not state expressly the date when the picture was taken.
The North did not elaborate on the threat to "go its own way". But after quitting the six-party forum in April, it vowed to restart plants at Yongbyon which can produce weapons-grade plutonium.
In May it staged a second atomic weapons test, the second since 2006.
"North Korea is now telling the US that it will further bolster its nuclear deterrent unless Washington comes out early for bilateral talks," Professor Koh Yu-Hwan, of South Korea's Dongguk University, told AFP.
Seoul officials quoted by Yonhap news agency said the North has apparently reopened the plant which reprocesses plutonium from spent fuel rods at its main nuclear complex.
"The reprocessing factory appears to have been restored to its earlier condition," the agency quoted a senior defence official as saying on condition of anonymity, citing satellite photos.
Pyongyang's comments came as its deputy nuclear negotiator, Ri Gun, wrapped up a US visit during which he held rare talks with Sung Kim, special US envoy to the six-party forum.
After months of bellicose moves including a series of missile tests, the North has lately been making peace overtures and has invited the US special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, to visit Pyongyang.
In early October leader Kim Jong-Il told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao his country was ready to return to six-party negotiations, but only after it has talked directly to the United States to improve "hostile relations".
"As the DPRK (North Korea) was magnanimous enough to clarify the stand that it is possible to hold multilateral talks including the six-party talks depending on the talks with the US, now is the US turn," a foreign ministry spokesman told Pyongyang's official news agency.
"If the US is not ready to sit at a negotiating table with the DPRK, it will go its own way."
The North has long sought direct high-level talks with the United States, and is unenthusiastic about the multilateral framework which also involves South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.
Washington says it is open to bilateral talks but these would be limited to bringing Pyongyang back to the six-party framework. It says it has made no decision on any visit by Bosworth.
The North's spokesman played down Ri Gun's meeting in New York, saying it was not a preliminary to bilateral talks. He reiterated the country's stance that it was forced to develop a nuclear deterrent to counter US hostility.
"If the hostile relations between the DPRK and the US are settled and confidence is built between them, there will be meaningful progress in realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula."
The North complained it had suffered a "huge economic loss" from nuclear disarmament deals, firstly with the United States in 1994 and then in 2005 and 2007 with all other members of the six-party talks.
It said it never received the two light-water reactors promised in 1994 in return for shutting down Yongbyon.
That deal collapsed in 2002 when the United States accused the North of operating a secret bomb-making programme based on enriched uranium, and the light-water reactors were never completed.
The North's spokesman also complained that his country had received little economic reward in return for the latest shutdown of Yongbyon in 2007 under a six-party deal.
The North received 745,000 tons of heavy oil worth around 310 million dollars before the deal stalled, according to a South Korean report in October.
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