Kim Jong-il Demands 'Nuclear Power Now, Disarmament Later'

All of those nasty rumors about North Korea being a 'lawless state' that 'sponsors crime,' that is 'linked to organized criminal groups' some of which 'are engaged in issuing counterfeit bank notes' are 'groundless.' According to North Korea's Communist Party newspaper, the 'American smear campaign' suggests that even if Pyongyang gives up its nukes, Washington will still seek regime change.

November 30, 2005

Original Article (English)

Pyongyang: Hard-line U.S. conservatives have become more and more bald-faced in their campaign to label the Democratic People's Republic of Korea a "lawless state." They paint North Korea as "the only country in the world that actively sponsors crime," "a criminal state linked to organized criminal groups" and "an abnormal state." They also assert that North Korea is linked to "groups engaged in issuing counterfeit bank notes."

This is the most malignant type of mudslinging to engage in against the dignified country of North Korea and its system.

It is neither surprising nor new for the U.S. to mislead public opinion with sheer lies, intended to give the impression that North Korea sponsors crime. But North Korea cannot but take note of the fact that American hard-line conservatives are escalating their campaign of slander since the publication of the September 19 joint statement. [READ: Joint Statement from Six-Party Talks]

This campaign is part of a psychological operation that the U.S. is executing to brand North Korea as "a lawless state," tarnish its image, and isolate and stifle its system at any cost.

By presenting the story of North Korea as "lawless state" as an established fact, the U.S. seeks to maneuver countries participating in the six-party talks and many other nations into offensively pressuring Pyongyang to "scrap its nuclear program first" [before North Korea is provided one or more nuclear power plants].

An important principle on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was agreed upon at the six-party talks, and this laid the groundwork for a substantial discussion of its implementation.

[Editor's Note: At the six-party talks in September, most observers - almost everyone paying attention in fact - were left with the impression that North Korea had agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for a nuclear power plant, to be provided AFTER the weapons were gone. But a day later, Pyongyang claimed that the agreement was for North Korea to receive TWO nuclear plants BEFORE giving up their nuclear weapons. The operative sections of the agreement read as follows:

The DPRK stated that it has the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The other parties expressed their respect and agreed to discuss, at an appropriate time, the subject of the provision of a light water reactor to the DPRK].

The U.S., however, is staging a wide-ranging, never-ending psychological operation against North Korea, designed to realize "regime change" and force it to "scrap its nuclear program first," all behind a veil of dialogue. This is creating serious problems.

Any discussion of forcing North Korea to "scrap its nuclear program first" is unimaginable, given the unprecedented American pressure offensive.

The groundless American smear campaign only increases skepticism about Washington's willingness to implement the September 19 joint statement, the keynotes of which are peace, stability, respect for sovereignty and co-existence. And such behavior creates apprehension that Washington will escalate its offensive and stifle North Korea even if the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is achieved. The U.S. pressure, therefore, is a stumbling block for the six-party talks.

North Korea's laws are by nature for the public good and serve as powerful weapons in providing genuine freedom and democracy to the Korean people. Slander can never cause these laws to cease to exist, as they are strictly observed thanks to the conscious enthusiasm and sense of obligation of Korean citizens.

Such being the hard fact, Washington is labeling North Korea a "criminal" and a "lawless" State. This is an absurd political farce that only the United States, a country accustomed to fabricating lies, could orchestrate.

North Korean and Korean-style socialism, under which the entire Communist Party, servicepersons and people are united as a single mind, will remain unfazed in any storm and under any stress.

Hard-line U.S. conservatives would be well advised to clearly understand this and behave themselves.