North Korea keeps world guessing

Tensions in Korea will be top of the list when US Secretary of State John Kerry begins talks in Japan.

ALL eyes are on North Korea to see if it marks the birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung today with a missile launch, despite tension-reducing noises from Seoul and Washington.

North Korea has a habit of linking high-profile military tests with key dates in its annual calendar. The centenary of Kim's birth last year was preceded by a long-range rocket test that ended in failure.

South Korean intelligence says the North has had two medium-range missiles primed and ready to fire for nearly a week, with many observers tapping Monday's anniversary as a likely launch date.

Adding fuel to the fire, North Korea warned Japan on Friday that Tokyo would be the first target in the event of a war on the Korean peninsula, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

The Korean peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un claps during the unveiling ceremony of two statues of former leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang.

Incensed by fresh UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military exercises, Pyongyang has spent weeks issuing blistering threats of missile strikes and nuclear war.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told an audience in Tokyo that the US is ready to talk to North Korea, but said Pyongyang had to take "meaningful steps'' to honour its international commitments.

"The United States remains open to authentic and credible negotiations on denuclearisation, but the burden is on Pyongyang,'' he said.

"North Korea must take meaningful steps to show it will honour commitments it has already made.''

U.S. Secretary of Sate John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

Kerry, whose three-country tour of Asia wraps up in Tokyo today after a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said talks in China and in South Korea had already demonstrated the world was talking with one voice.

"One thing is certain: we are united. There can be no confusion on this point,'' he said.

"The North's dangerous nuclear missile program threatens not only North Korea's neighbours, but also its own people."

He said Pyongyang was bucking the trend of history in its pursuit of atomic armaments.

"At a time when the world is moving toward fewer nuclear weapons, not more - when President Obama has articulated a clear vision for nonproliferation - the last thing we need is one or two states bucking the trend of history and common sense.
 

"The world does not need more potential for war. So we will stand together, and we welcome China's strong statement of its commitment two days ago to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.''

During his visits in Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo, Kerry talked tough on the North's "unacceptable'' rhetoric, but also sought to lower the temperature slightly by supporting a dialogue with Pyongyang and saying he would be prepared to reach out to North Korea.

He also urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to lead his country back to negotiations.

"We're prepared to reach out, but we need the appropriate moment, appropriate circumstances,'' Kerry said on Sunday.

In Seoul, he gave Washington's public blessing to peace overtures made by South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye, who in recent days has signalled the need to open a dialogue and "listen to what North Korea thinks''.

The North's immediate response to her latest remarks was negative, with a spokesman for the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea suggesting the dialogue overtures were a "cunning'' ploy.

Monday's celebrations in Pyongyang will have their usual martial flavour, with a large military parade that North Korea uses to showcase its weaponry to the world.

The missiles mobilised by the North are reported to be untested Musudan models with an estimated range of up to 4000 kilometres.

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam.But first the reclusive communist government first must lower tensions and honour previous agreements.

North Korea has a clear course of action available to it, and will find "ready partners'' in the United States if it follows through, US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters.

Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, who appeared with Mr Kerry at a news conference, was more explicit, saying that North Korea must honour its commitment to earlier deals regarding its nuclear and missile programs and on returning kidnapped foreigners.

The officials agreed on the need to work toward a nuclear-free North Korea and opened the door to direct talks if certain conditions are met.

Their comments highlight the difficulty in resolving the North Korean nuclear situation in a peaceful manner, as pledged by Mr Kerry and Chinese leaders in Beijing on Saturday.

Gaining China's commitment, Mr Kerry insisted, was no small matter given Beijing's historically strong military and economic ties to North Korea.

The issue has taken on fresh urgency in recent months, given North Korea's tests of a nuclear device and intercontinental ballistic missile technology, and its increasingly brazen threats of nuclear strikes against the United States.

US and South Korean officials believe the North may deliver another provocation in the coming days with a mid-range missile test.

"The question,'' Mr Kerry said, "is what steps do you take now so we are not simply repeating the cycle of the past years.'' That was a clear reference to the various negotiated agreements and UN Security Council ultimatums that North Korea has violated since the 1990s.

"We have to be careful and thoughtful and frankly not lay out publicly all the options,'' Mr Kerry said.

Given their proximity and decades of hostility and distrust, Japan and South Korea have the most to fear from the North's unpredictable actions.

Mr Kerry said the US would defend both its allies at all cost.

He also clarified a statement he made Saturday in Beijing, when he told reporters the US could scale back its missile-defense posture in the region if North Korea goes nuclear-free.

It appeared to be a sweetener to coax tougher action from China, which has done little over the years to snuff out funding and support for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program.

China fears the increased US military presence in the region may be directed at it as well.

Mr Kerry said America's basic force posture wasn't up to debate. "There is no discussion that I know of to change that,'' he said.

But he said it was logical that additional missile-defense elements, including a land-based system for the Pacific territory of Guam, deployed because of the Korean threat could be reversed if that threat no longer existed.

"There's nothing actually on the table with respect to that. I was simply making an observation about the rationale for that particular deployment, which is to protect the United States' interests that are directly threatened by North Korea,'' Mr Kerry said.

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