South Korean defence minister: North Korea will achieve nothing with nukes, missiles

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Monday warned against North Korea's pursuit of missiles and nuclear weapons, saying the North will not achieve anything with provocations, Yonhap News Agency reported. "North Korea's nuclear and missile weapons have threatened not only the Korean Peninsula but also the Asia-Pacific region and world peace," Kim was quoted as saying during a speech at an international defense forum held in Seoul. "We will maintain strong deterrence to break the vicious cycle of 'provocations and reward' to bring changes in North Korea." Kim said he will work to restore relations with Pyongyang based on the principle of trust-building and cooperate with the international community for peace and stability in the region. Last week, his ministry reported to parliament that Pyongyang has made considerable progress in developing a fairly robust nuclear program in the past three years and is capable of making atomic weapons anytime. Amid inter-Korean talks to resume cross-border projects, Pyongyang expressed its willingness to rejoin the six-party talks but has shown no signs of accepting conditions set by Seoul and Washington to give up its nuclear capabilities. Instead, it has insisted on being recognized as a nuclear power. The six-party talks involving the US, North Korea, South Korea, China Japan and Russia aimed at ending the North's nuclear program, but the talks have been stalled since late 2008.