Seoul urges Pyongyang to take path of change

Seoul, March 15: South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday urged North Korea to come to the path of change amid escalating tensions in the Korean peninsula.

If Pyongyang continues unreasonable provocations and strong confrontations with the international community while refraining from coming to a path of change, it will walk a path of destroying itself, Xinhua news agency quoted Park as saying.

The president said that despite strong sanctions from the international society and South Korea, North Korea continued its provocative remarks like a pre-emptive nuclear strike, expressed its willingness to conduct another nuclear test and continued reckless threats such as the launch of short range missiles.

Her comments came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that a nuclear warhead explosion test and a test-fire of ballistic rockets capable of carrying nuclear warheads will be conducted in a short time to enhance the reliance of its nuclear attack capability.

Kim made the remarks when he guided the successful simulated test of re-entry technology needed to return a long range missile's warhead back into atmosphere. Seoul's defence ministry said that North Korea is yet to secure such technology.

Such nuclear threats showed that Pyongyang has a strong sense of crisis towards sanctions by South Korea against North Korea and the international community, President Park said, emphasising the significance of implementing the sanctions properly.

Park instructed the military to maintain defence preparedness in order to immediately retaliate against any North Korean provocations, while ordering officials to strengthen strategic communications with countries such as the US, China, Russia and Japan.

IANS