SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said Thursday that the international standoff over its nuclear ambitions could be resolved if the United States gives up what Pyongyang alleges are its plans to overthrow the communist regime by a nuclear attack.
``If the United States shows sincerity by its actions - such as changing its policy of squashing to death by nuclear (weapons) and assuring peaceful coexistence - the nuclear issue between (North Korea) and the United States can be resolved smoothly,'' the North's official Rodong Sinmun wrote in an editorial.
The United States has repeatedly said it has no intention to attack the North, and has sought to convince Pyongyang to return to international disarmament talks that have been on hold since last June. North Korea said in February it would indefinitely boycott the meetings and claimed it had nuclear weapons.
The editorial Thursday, carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, also said a change of U.S. policy would ``provide a gauge whether the United States is serious about resolving the nuclear issue and a nuclear-free (Korean) peninsula.'' The North also reiterated that it possessed nuclear weapons in self-defense.
Meanwhile, a North Korean diplomat insisted Thursday in an interview that Pyongyang would treat U.N. sanctions over its nuclear weapons ambitions as tantamount to a declaration of war.
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