North Korea paper warns about ill effects of US policy.

27/4 Tass 212

PYONGYANG, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - U.S. intentions to tighten sanctions
against North Korea under the pretext of a military threat from Pyongyang
"must be qualified as an intentional bid of Washington to bring relations
between the two countries to a critical level," the Rodong Sinmun
newspaper said in an article published on Tuesday.
The paper warns about "ill effects of such extremist policy, capable
to bring to a second war on the Korean peninsula". "One cannot expect
relaxation of tension or a stable peaceful situation in this region as
long as Washington continues to maintain large-scale military presence in
South Korea and stockpile nuclear weapons on its territory," it stressed.
Earlier, the leading party newspaper of North Korea repeatedly came
out in favour of "the establishment of relations of trust with the USA in
the interests of the resumption of the process of denuclearisation on the
Korean peninsula".
The Rodong Sinmun noted in its comments that for that aim the two
countries "must first of all sign a peace treaty instead of the present
armistice agreement". This is "the only real and reasonable road for
achieving progress in denuclearisation," it stressed in the article.
The newspaper believes a peace agreement between North Korea and the
USA "should have been signed much earlier". If lasting peace had been
established on the Korean peninsula earlier, "the nuclear issue would not
have emerged," it wrote.
Last January the North Korean Foreign Ministry offered to begin talks
with the USA on the signing of a new treaty, that would formally put an
end to the Korean War of 1950-1953. A Foreign Ministry statement noted
that this treaty would make it possible to "do away with hostile
relations" between the two countries "and progress towards
denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula at a quick pace".
-0-zhe/gor