Pyongyang slams Seoul for seeking to dismantle its nuclear weapons

North Korea on Monday slammed South Korea for seeking to dismantle its nuclear weapons in its newly presented five-year plan.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week displayed his government's five-year plan of state administration, which included the "strategy on the north", saying Seoul would produce a plan for dismantlement of the north's nuclear weapons, Xinhua news agency reported.

A local newspaper said in a commentary that the strategy is "a heinous confrontation scenario for intensifying anti-DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) campaign over the nuclear and human rights issues".

"It is an unpardonable deed to remove the DPRK's nuclear deterrent for self-defense, pursuant to the US scheme," it said.

The official Korean Central News Agency also denounced the strategy, saying north-south relations "will never improve with the DPRK nuclear issue as a preconditon".

"This is absolutely unpardonable as it blocks the road for improved north-south relations, disregarding the principled stand of the DPRK on the 'nuclear issue'," it added.

--IANS

vgu/