The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is ready for the resumption of the six-party talks, but the United States and South Korea have effectively blocked it by setting preconditions, a DPRK newspaper said.
The six-party talks are aimed to achieving the denuclearization of the whole Korean peninsula, but not about asking a certain party to shoulder all responsibilities, according to a commentary published by the DPRK's leading official newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday.
The root of the Korean peninsula nuclear issues lies in the nuclear threat posed by the United States and South Korea, and to solve the issue, the two countries should take actions first to eliminate the threat, it said.
The DPRK has repeatedly expressed its commitment and made sincere efforts to realize the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the commentary said, adding that the United States and South Korea's acts of delaying the resumption of talks under various pretexts would lead to nowhere.
The DPRK has prepared itself for both eventualities -- dialogue or confrontation. If the United States and South Korea continue to aggravate the situation on the Korean peninsula by confrontation and exerting pressure, the DPRK is going to fight back firmly, it said.
At their bilateral meeting during the recent Group of 20 Summit in Seoul, U.S. President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak reaffirmed the point that the DPRK must take practical actions to show a commitment to nuclear dismantlement and "must show a genuine gesture and responsible attitude on the Cheonan incident."
The 1,200-ton "Cheonan" warship with 104 crew members on board sank on March 26 near the maritime border with the DPRK. Only 58 sailors survived.
South Korean investigators released investigation results on May 20, saying the ship was sunk by a DPRK torpedo. The DPRK rejected the accusation and denied any involvement.
Quoted by the DPRK's official news agency KCNA on Oct. 16, a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry said the DPRK is ready for the resumption of the six-party talks but decided not to go hasty, adding that it would make ceaseless patient efforts in that respect.