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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, inspects a Pyongyang factory that makes food for athletes. On Kim's left is Choe Ryong-hae, Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee secretary. / Yonhap |
North Korea renewed its demand for ending the joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington, Sunday, saying there would be no dialogue unless its demand was met.
The Rodong Sinmun, the official organ of the Workers' Party, said, "It is apparent that any attempts toward dialogue will make no progress unless the nuclear war drills are halted."
The paper was referring to the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises slated for early March. It also said talks between Seoul and Pyongyang, and Washington and Pyongyang would be impossible.
The North claimed inter-Korean dialogue will progress smoothly and there will be epoch-making improvements in peace and security in East Asia as well as on the Korean Peninsula, should its demand for ending the military drills be met.
Regarding the U.S. assertion that the drill is an annual one, it recalled the U.S. discontinued the Team Spirit Exercise at its request in 1990s.
The paper criticized the U.S. move toward strengthening sanctions against the reclusive nation for its alleged hacking of Sony Pictures. "From an overall perspective, the United States is expected to step up its efforts toward cornering the Korean peninsula on the verge of war this year, instead of seeking to ease tension."
The U.S. administration has been gearing up its pressure the North over the hacking. The North is rebuffing the move, calling for joint investigation into the case.
"Any mean and malicious tactics would not be useful for us. The U.S. should dare to turn its policy around without sticking to reckless hostile measures against us," it said.
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