Pyongyang’s effort towards stability on peninsula challenged statement

Pyongyang’s effort towards ensuring peace and stability in the region through talks and a dialog is facing a major challenge, a statement of the North Korean Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The statement sharply criticized Washington for the decision to use the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the upcoming naval maneuvers of South Korea and Japan. The statement also noted that “the signing (on October 2) of a US-South Korean strategic military agreement aimed against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) contributed” to an escalation of tension. The ministry statement said the United States was aggravating the situation on the peninsula “with an aim to deprive the DPRK, which possesses nuclear weapons, of a possibility to achieve economic progress”. “Our country is ready both for peace and for confrontation,” the statement stressed. “But the DPRK will never abandon the path it chose and will build a prosperous state despite actions by hostile forces,” it added.