South Korean President Calls For End Of Korean War Declaration, Pyongyang: Too Early

Illustration of Kim Il Sung Square in North Korea. (Pixabay/gfs_mizuta)

JAKARTA - South Korea's call to declare an official end to the Korean War is premature as there is no guarantee that it will lead to the withdrawal of "US hostile policy" towards Pyongyang, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Friday, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Ri. Tae Song.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday this week, reiterating calls for an official end to the Korean War in his address to the UN General Assembly, proposed that the two Koreas with the United States of America, or with the United States and China, make such a declaration.

The two Koreas are technically still at war after their 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

"Nothing will change as long as the political situation around the DPRK remains unchanged and the US hostile policy is not changed, even though the cessation of war was declared hundreds of times," Ri said, citing Reuters from KCNA Friday, September 24, using North Korea's official name.

"US withdrawal from double standards and hostile policies is a top priority in stabilizing the situation on the Korean peninsula and ensuring peace on it."

In his statement, Ri said the actual situation proves that the adoption of a declaration of cessation of war is something premature.

"The whole world knows that the test launches of the Minuteman-3 ICBM at Vandenberg air force base in California on the US mainland in February and August this year, the hasty declaration of termination of the US-South Korean missile guidelines in May this year and US approval for the sale of the device. billions of dollars worth of military violence to Japan and South Korea are all targeted against the DPRK," Ri said, citing KCNA.

Ri said North Korea was following closely with the recent US decision to transfer nuclear submarine-building technology to Australia.

According to him, as long as there is still a hostile US policy towards the DPRK, the biggest stumbling block in ending the war, the cessation of the war will only be nominal even though it has been announced.

"All these facts prove that it is too early to declare the end of the war," he said.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden addressed the UN assembly and said the United States wanted 'sustainable diplomacy' to resolve the crisis surrounding North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Meanwhile, North Korea has rejected a US offer to engage in dialogue and the head of the UN atomic watchdog said this week Pyongyang's nuclear program would be fully operational.

Last week, the two Koreas conducted a test launch of a missile, with Pyongyang launching a cruise missile and a train-based missile. Meanwhile, Seoul has successfully launched a domestically made SLBM.