North Korea Renews Nuclear Tantrums Ahead of Chinese President's Seoul Visit

North Korea renews nuclear tantrums ahead of Chinese president's Seoul visitReuters

North Korea has yet again insisted it will press ahead with its nuclear programmes even as the Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit the isolated nation's neighbouring rival South Korea.

As part of its chest-beating exercise, Pyongyang said South Korea is in "stupid delusion" if Seoul thinks it can make North Korea abandon its contentious nuclear ambitions.

"If nuclear problems are to be resolved in the Korean Peninsula, nuclear threats and risks of attacking the North raised by the US and the South Korean puppet group of traitors should be eliminated first," said a report carried by the North Korean mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun.

It added: "Expecting us to make changes in our policies and stances is equivalent to anticipating that the sky falls."

The Chinese head of state is scheduled to be on official visit to South Korea later this week in order to discuss Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

China, one of the few close allies of North Korea, is increasingly distancing itself from the communist regime in recent years as Pyongyang is becoming a political burden for Beijing.

Xi is also expected to hold bilateral talks with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye when he visits the latter's state on Thursday and Friday (3 and 4 July). This will be the first time a Chinese leader is visiting South Korea before touring North Korea, signalling a sharp change in Beijing's foreign policy affairs.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, North Korea's latest announcement has come when the country has said it will put the two detained American men on trial for their "hostile acts" against the state.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Miller Todd and Jeffery Fowle will face judicial proceedings.

"According to the results of the investigation, suspicions about their hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their testimonies," the KCNA said.

Fowle was arrested in April when he was touring North Korea while Miller was taken into custody after he tore up his tourist visa and sought asylum in the country.