NDC Policy Department Clarifies Stand over U.S., S. Korea's Call for Dialogue

 Pyongyang, April 18 (KCNA) -- The Policy Department of the National Defence Commission (NDC) of the DPRK released a statement Thursday clarifying the principled stand of the DPRK over the U.S. and the south Korean authorities' rhetoric about dialogue.
    The statement says in part:
    The U.S. and the south Korean puppet regime should take a bold decision of taking the following practical measures if they want to shirk the historical responsibility for the prevailing grave situation on the Korean Peninsula and evade sledge-hammer retaliatory blows of the army and people of the DPRK and if they truly stand for dialogue and negotiations:
    First, they should immediately stop all their provocative acts against the DPRK and apologize for all of them.
    As the first phase, they should take measures of retracting the UN Security Council's "resolutions on sanctions" cooked up under absurd pretexts.
    They should bear in mind that doing so would be a token of good will towards the DPRK.
    The south Korean puppet forces should promptly halt all anti-DPRK rackets being kicked up by them, linking their own mishaps such as the Cheonan warship sinking incident and the "March 20 hacking case" to the north.
    Second, they should give formal assurances before the world that they would not stage again such nuclear war drills to threaten or blackmail the DPRK.
    Dialogue can never go with war actions.
    Frequent nuclear war maneuvers will only strain the situation and totally block the way of dialogue.
    The army and people of the DPRK will not be taken in by sophism that the nuclear war drills being staged under its very nose are annual and defensive military actions for defending the U.S. and guaranteeing the security of south Korea.
    Third, they should make a decision to withdraw all nuclear war means from south Korea and its vicinity and give up their attempt to reintroduce them as their immediate duty.
    They should bear in mind that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can begin with the pullout of the nuclear war means introduced by the U.S. and this may lead to the global denuclearization.
    The chief of Chongwadae should not forget that the prospect of south Korea may be rosy when the DPRK's nukes are considered as a property common to the nation but south Korea is bound to go to ruin when it remains under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
    The situation on the peninsula is directly linked with peace and security in Northeast Asia and the rest of the world.
    The army and people of the DPRK together with the world peace-loving people who sympathize with justice and value conscience will closely follow the future behavior of the U.S. and its followers. -0-