Few to celebrate North Korea’s anniversary
Reclusive communist state North Korea celebrates her 55th anniversary on Tuesday, with the first military parade in a decade.
Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, suggested Pyongyang planned to show off its new ballistic missile, which, with a range of 1,850-2,500 miles can reach US bases in Guam and Okinawa, Japan.
“To develop the missile, the North Koreans received assistance from missile scientists from the former Soviet Union,” said an unnamed official quoted in the newspaper.
About 20,000 soldiers are expected at the parade in the North’s capital.
Recent six-nation talks in Beijing, China, produced little change in the North’s insistence that the US must drop its “aggressive” policy toward the country. It said it has little choice but to “strengthen its nuclear deterrent” and accused the US of eyeing up “sinister schemes” to prepare for “regime change” in the region.
North Korea objects to US plans to disarm the country “completely.” It wants bilateral discussions with the US on the nuclear issue and humanitarian aid before any new deal is signed.
In October last year, the US announced that North Korea had admitted to a secret nuclear arms programme.
Since that time, the North has reportedly reactivated its Yongbyon nuclear plant, expelled UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors and effectively ended its support for the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran, North Korea and the pre-war Iraq, sit on US President Bush’s “axis of evil.”
Yesterday, the head of the IAEA, Mohammed ElBaradei, said the North’s nuclear weapons programme presented “a serious and immediate challenge” to the proliferation of atomic weaponry.
Mr ElBaradei also said Iran must clarify details of its alleged nuclear program. “I’m going to strongly urge Iran to clarify all issues relevant to its enrichment program to make sure that all its enrichment activities have been declared and are under agency verification,” he said.
