Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

KPA Side Refutes South Side's Smear Campaign over Abortive Trial Train Operation

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

   Pyongyang, May 28 (KCNA) -- The authorities and officials concerned of the ruling and opposition parties of south Korea are vying with each other to vociferously assert that the north side is to blame for the failure of the north and the south to conduct the trial train operation on May 25 as scheduled. In this connection a spokesman for the north side delegation to the Inter-Korean Military Talks on Saturday issued a statement clarifying the stand of the Korean People's Army. The statement said:
    The north-south trial train operation proved abortive because the establishment of a "peace mechanism" on the Korean Peninsula and revitalization of inter-Korean cooperation and exchange, much touted by the south side on official and unofficial occasions, turned out to be nothing but an empty talk full of lies and deception and it was foolish enough to use the trial train operation for its political purpose in violation of the principle it agreed with the north side as regards the project of reconnecting the north-south railways.
    The above-said trial operation could not be conducted also because the south side failed to exert sincere efforts to ensure that the north and the south properly conduct economic cooperation and exchange in line with the agreement already reached between them so that the KPA may take steps for military guarantee keeping pace with them.
    At the north-south general-level military talks held so far we explained enough to convince the south side that if the inter-Korean rail and road links are to be properly reconnected and cooperation and exchange make successful progress on the principle of ensuring the common prosperity of the nation and meeting its common interests, it is most urgent to defuse the military tension and ensure lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
    We clarified our stand that if the south side is truly interested in opening to traffic the railways and roads aimed at relinking the severed blood ties of the nation and ready to take measures for military guarantee for it, it should take up among other things such basic issue of defusing the military tension as the issue of preventing clashes in the waters of the West Sea at the inter-Korean military talks arranged by use of precious time and otherwise, it is impossible to properly settle any issue arising between the north and the south.
    It was quite obvious that the KPA could not allow the peaceful trial train operation under the present situation that such rowdyism as burning flags of the DPRK, a dignified symbol of our state, was perpetrated in Seoul and Phyongthaek in broad daylight at the tacit connivance of the police authorities quite contrary to the trend of the June 15 era.
    The south side should not busy itself falsifying reality and creating impression that all the responsibilities for the case rest with the north side but make due efforts to fulfill its responsibility.
    It should clearly understand that all issues arising in the inter-Korean relations can be properly solved only when it makes a responsible option to buckle down to defusing the military tension that may stop overall cooperation and exchange in a moment and settling such core military issue as clashes in the waters of the West Sea.
    The KPA will closely watch the future attitude of the south side.