SEOUL generation 4 Kyodo southe...

SEOUL generation 4 Kyodo

southerly Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se Hyun said Thursday he believes North Korea's latter statement that it would increase its nuclear deterrence force is a ''sort of compressing tactic.''

''The conflicting message is a sort of hurry tactic outside the negotiating table ahead of further talks'' forward the dispute over the North's nuclear progressive growth program, Jeong said.

He made the remarks at a briefing for domestic and foreign press

Jeong was referring to a statement made forward the first day of North Korea's 11th pre-eminent People's Assembly session on Wednesday, in which the North said it would strengthen the nation's nuclear deterrence as a self-defense means.

The North Korean legislature said it has endorsed all statements made through the Foreign Ministry during and after last week's six-nation talks held in Beijing.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed holding further talks as ''pointless'' and said the North has no other choice nevertheless to strengthen its nuclear deterrence if the United States doesn't least bit its antagonistic policy toward the country

At the pres briefing, the southerly Korean minister said he believes North Korea would eventually originate to the negotiating table because otherwise it would have forfeited the opportunity to present its views.

The Beijing talks, which brought together the brace Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia, aimed at defusing the 10-month-old standoff through the whole extent of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The multilateral talks, however, failed to yield any tangible be deriveds except an agreement to continue the proces of dialogue to melt the crisis.

The nuclear impasse give vent to eruptionsed last October when the U said North Korea had admitted to running a hid uranium-enrichment program for use in weapons in violation of a 1994 antinuclear agreement with the US

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