Tensions rising on DMZ, North Korean officer tells AP

Not long before North Korea’s most recent nuclear test, the US and South Korea had an unofficial discussion about peace talks, reports say.

Last month, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test despite worldwide condemnation and followed it with a long-range rocket launch on February 7.

“Recent events here have made South Korean people feel a little insecure, especially the rapid development of the North’s nuclear and missile programs, so the exercises are a welcome sign of Washington’s guarantee of the alliance”, Rah Jong-yil, the former head of South Korea’s intelligence service, told The Telegraph.

Yoo’s comments came amid rising expectations that geopolitical risks from Pyongyang’s nuclear test and long-range rocket launch may weigh down further on the already struggling South Korean economy.

“On the global stage, the US talks about peace”, he said.

North Korea is making the announcement in response to moves toward tougher sanctions at the United Nations Security Council, and in the United States, South Korea and Japan, Yonhap reported.

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, and the US retains 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against the North. Even if no progress was made in this discussion, it does bring attention to the question of how to resolve the issue of North Korea’s nuclear program.

In December, North Korea hacked into a South Korean nuclear power operator, and tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang have grown since the shutdown of a jointly operated factory park in North Korea, the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

South Korea’s defense minister has said that about 15,000 USA troops will take part in the annual exercises, double the number Washington normally sends.

The delay comes as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to visit Washington from Tuesday to meet his United States counterpart John Kerry for possible talks over the controversial defence system and North Korea.

“At the point where Pyongyang says, ‘We’re interested in seeing relief from sanctions and improved relations, and we are prepared to have a serious conversation about denuclearization, ‘ I think it’s fair to say we’ll be right there at the table”, he added.

According to the article, the Barack Obama administration secretly agreed to talks with Pyongyang to formally end the Korean War, despite its longtime policy that Pyongyang must take steps to curtail its nuclear program before any discussions could take place.

“When you are brandishing nuclear weapons and you are making declaratory statements such as North Korea does, then you are putting yourself in a risky situation in a crisis”, Pinkston said.

“Should North Korea demonstrate a genuine willingness towards denuclearization, we reaffirm that Korea and the USA, along with the rest of the global community, stand ready to extend cooperative measures to the North”, she said.