HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Wednesday, 13 March, 2002, 08:23 GMT
N Korea condemns 'nuclear
blackmail'
US would be "grossly mistaken" to repeat its attack on
Hiroshima North Korea has for the first time reacted to its inclusion
on a list countries the US says it might use nuclear weapons against by
promising it will take a "strong countermeasure".
A report carried by the official North Korean news agency, KCNA, accused the US of pursuing a policy of "nuclear blackmail". But our correspondent in Seoul, Caroline Gluck, says the agency leaves ambiguous the possibility that North Korea has the capability of carrying out its own nuclear attack.
US officials have played down the policy paper - Secretary of State Colin Powell has portrayed it as "sound.. conceptual planning" only, not a blueprint for any attack. China, Russia and Iran have already called on Washington to explain the report. China said on Tuesday it was "deeply shocked" to be included on the list. A report in the official China Daily on Wednesday said the review was a pretext for the US to resume nuclear tests and develop new nuclear arms to extend its military dominance in the world, KCNA said the US plans justified its efforts to increase its capacity for self defence. It said: "If the US intends to mount a nuclear attack on any part of the DPRK [North Korea] just as it did on Hiroshima, it is grossly mistaken. "A nuclear war to be imposed by the US nuclear fanatics... would mean their ruin in nuclear disaster." Arsenal reduction But Colin Powell has dismissed suggestions the US was moving towards nuclear recklessness, saying its superiority in conventional weapons made nuclear conflict less likely. Answering questions from Democratic senators on Tuesday, Mr Powell said: "There is no way to read that document and come to the conclusion the United States will be more likely or will more quickly go to the use of nuclear weapons." Mr Powell said the US has offered to reduce its nuclear arsenal to between about 1,700 and 2,200 nuclear warheads, in parallel with similar reductions by Russia. Three-pronged plan Weekend reports said the weapons could be used in "retaliation for attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons" and "against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attack". The third category - "in the event of surprising military developments" - is described by the BBC's Washington correspondent, Paul Reynolds, as a "catch-all" clause. The report - titled Nuclear Posture Review - is quoted as saying the Pentagon should be ready to use nuclear weapons in an Arab-Israeli conflict, a war between China and Taiwan and an attack by North Korea on the South. As for Russia, it is said to be only listed in view of its own large nuclear arsenal and it is not viewed as an enemy. --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ |
<<_1864173_hiroshima-ap-300.jpg>>
