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AFP - North Korea is preparing to send a defiant message to the world with a massive parade of military might at national day celebrations, according to officials and analysts.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is reportedly planning the biggest military parade for more than a decade, to feature thousands of troops, tanks, artillery and missiles during the 55th anniversary of the founding of the communist state on Tuesday.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing defence analysts, said the regime may choose the occasion to unveil a new multi-stage ballistic missile with a range of up to 4,000km.
North Korea's official media said a "mammoth" parade would mark the celebrations, while reports in Seoul said missiles and tanks have been moved in preparation to Mirim airport, about 11 km outside the capital.
A Seoul government official told the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper the parade would be the biggest since 1992 when the Stalinist state celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of its People's Army as a guerrilla force fighting the Japanese occupation of Korea.
Speculation has mounted that North Korea would use the celebrations to conduct a nuclear or missile test as a follow-up to three days of acrimonious six-nation talks in Beijing late last month on its nuclear program.
North Korea had reiterated its demand for a non-aggression pact from the United States at the meeting also including Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, while Washington insisted that North Korea dismantle its nuclear programs before it receives concessions.
Signs of flexibility have emerged from Washington, with US Secretary of State Colin Powell saying the US would consult with allies as to what "security assurance" could be offered to North Korea in exchange for an end to its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea's strategic position could only be weakened if it conducted a nuclear test at this stage, officials and analysts said.
"I am cautiously negative on whether they will carry out any such test. If they did, six-way nuclear talks would quickly become a multilateral sanctions regime," said professor Kim Sung-Han of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security here.
Robert Karniol, Asia Pacific editor for Jane's Defence Weekly, also said a test was unlikely.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-Kwan, who met with US President George W Bush and Powell in Washington last week, said he expected the United States to "actively" address North Korean security concerns at the next round of six-way talks, for which no date has been set.
But North Korea accused the United States of misleading the public and insisted further negotiations were useless, leaving the regime no choice but to increase its nuclear deterrence.
A foreign ministry spokesman disdained US "misinformation" about its purported change in approach towards the Stalinist regime.
"The US expressed its willingness to take measures ranging from the phased lift of sanctions to the conclusion of a final peace pact once the DPRK (North Korea) begins dismantling its nuclear weapons facilities," he told the Korean Central News Agency.
"This is, however, nothing but a sheer lie the US faked up to flee from its responsibility for bringing to rupture the hard-won six-way talks, a result of the DPRK's magnanimity and good faith."
North Korea would "increase its nuclear deterrent force as a self-defensive means, now that it has become clear that the US does not have any willingness to make a switchover in its hostile policy," he said.
Making his first comments since resigning last month, the former top US envoy for Pyongyang said the United States must abandon its refusal to hold one-on-one talks with North Korea if it is to solve the nuclear crisis.
Criticising the "drive-by meetings" US negotiators have led at multilateral forums also engaging North Korean officials, Jack Pritchard said: "the prospects for success unless the format is slightly altered are very grim.
"The change that has to occur is putting in the component of a true bilateral engagement between the United States and North Korea."
©AAP 2003
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is reportedly planning the biggest military parade for more than a decade, to feature thousands of troops, tanks, artillery and missiles during the 55th anniversary of the founding of the communist state on Tuesday.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing defence analysts, said the regime may choose the occasion to unveil a new multi-stage ballistic missile with a range of up to 4,000km.
North Korea's official media said a "mammoth" parade would mark the celebrations, while reports in Seoul said missiles and tanks have been moved in preparation to Mirim airport, about 11 km outside the capital.
A Seoul government official told the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper the parade would be the biggest since 1992 when the Stalinist state celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of its People's Army as a guerrilla force fighting the Japanese occupation of Korea.
Speculation has mounted that North Korea would use the celebrations to conduct a nuclear or missile test as a follow-up to three days of acrimonious six-nation talks in Beijing late last month on its nuclear program.
North Korea had reiterated its demand for a non-aggression pact from the United States at the meeting also including Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, while Washington insisted that North Korea dismantle its nuclear programs before it receives concessions.
Signs of flexibility have emerged from Washington, with US Secretary of State Colin Powell saying the US would consult with allies as to what "security assurance" could be offered to North Korea in exchange for an end to its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea's strategic position could only be weakened if it conducted a nuclear test at this stage, officials and analysts said.
"I am cautiously negative on whether they will carry out any such test. If they did, six-way nuclear talks would quickly become a multilateral sanctions regime," said professor Kim Sung-Han of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security here.
Robert Karniol, Asia Pacific editor for Jane's Defence Weekly, also said a test was unlikely.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-Kwan, who met with US President George W Bush and Powell in Washington last week, said he expected the United States to "actively" address North Korean security concerns at the next round of six-way talks, for which no date has been set.
But North Korea accused the United States of misleading the public and insisted further negotiations were useless, leaving the regime no choice but to increase its nuclear deterrence.
A foreign ministry spokesman disdained US "misinformation" about its purported change in approach towards the Stalinist regime.
"The US expressed its willingness to take measures ranging from the phased lift of sanctions to the conclusion of a final peace pact once the DPRK (North Korea) begins dismantling its nuclear weapons facilities," he told the Korean Central News Agency.
"This is, however, nothing but a sheer lie the US faked up to flee from its responsibility for bringing to rupture the hard-won six-way talks, a result of the DPRK's magnanimity and good faith."
North Korea would "increase its nuclear deterrent force as a self-defensive means, now that it has become clear that the US does not have any willingness to make a switchover in its hostile policy," he said.
Making his first comments since resigning last month, the former top US envoy for Pyongyang said the United States must abandon its refusal to hold one-on-one talks with North Korea if it is to solve the nuclear crisis.
Criticising the "drive-by meetings" US negotiators have led at multilateral forums also engaging North Korean officials, Jack Pritchard said: "the prospects for success unless the format is slightly altered are very grim.
"The change that has to occur is putting in the component of a true bilateral engagement between the United States and North Korea."
©AAP 2003