North Korea’s only slightly sillier version of the South Korean Unification Ministry apparently wants to exclude Seoul from the six-party talks unless it stops “dancing to the tune of outside forces”:
The North’s Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland issued a circular condemning South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon’s repetition of the U.S. position that “complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement” of the North’s nuclear program must precede any aid pledge.
The U.S, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia have held two rounds of talks with North Korea aimed at persuading it to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. The U.S, South Korea and Japan have coordinated their negotiating positions.
“If the South Korean authorities want to take part in the negotiation as a member of the six-way talks in future, and remain a partner in inter-Korean dialogue, they must join efforts with compatriots, instead of dancing to the tune of outside forces,” the circular said, as cited by the North’s official Korea Central News Agency.
I think it would be a great idea at this point for the new Uri-dominated South Korean government to show it will take no shit from Pyongyang and tell the North, in the words of my good friend Andy, to go sit and spin.
(Hat tip to the Gweilo Diaries)
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