By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter


The U.S. should turn the cease-fire accord that ended the 1950-53 Korean War into a peace treaty to resolve the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula, a major North Korean newspaper said on Tuesday.

It was the first time Pyongyang’s state media outlet made any reference to the nuclear issue since the beginning of the fourth round of the six-party denuclearization talks on July 26.

The six-party dialogue, which lasted 13 days, is scheduled to resume in Beijing the week of August 29.

``Replacing the armistice agreement with a peace treaty is an urgent issue, which North Korea and the United States should immediately address to resolve the nuclear problem in a fair manner,’’ said the commentary in the Rodong Shinmun.

Four days before the beginning of the talks, a spokesman of North’s Foreign Ministry made similar arguments by saying a peace treaty is a precondition to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

The newspaper said that replacing the armistice would remove the U.S.’ ``hostile policies’’ and ``nuclear threats’’ against North Korea, and eventually realize the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has argued that it had to develop nuclear weapons to defend itself from the American menace.

On July 27, 1953, the three-year Korean war ended with an armistice that was signed by the U.S.-led United Nations Command, North Korea and China. The cease-fire accord has not been converted into a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula technically at war.

Pyongyang has repeatedly demanded that Washington agree to the peace treaty, but many in South Korea and the U.S. think such request is based on a strategy to drive out U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

Participating countries in the six-party talks, now in a three-week recess after failing to produce a joint statement, reportedly discussed principles on how to build ``peace system’’ on the Korean Peninsula.

But the last draft of a joint statement, crafted by host China and not accepted, apparently did not contain remarks on a peace treaty as it was designed to create a framework for moving the multilateral talks forward with the eventual goal of denuclearization of the Korean peninsular.

im@koreatimes.co.kr