North Korea on Wednesday accused the United States of trying to "permanently occupy South Korea," saying it would hamper attempts at peace and reunification on the peninsula.
The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, which exclusively handles South Korean affairs, claimed US commanders were speaking in favour of a permanent US military presence in the South.
The committee said in a statement such "reckless" remarks came from Admiral Timothy Keating, chief of the US Pacific Command, and General Burwell Bell, head of US troops in the South.
Pyongyang quoted the latter saying on January 10: "The US military actively supports its permanent presence in South Korea," in a speech that was not made public.
A spokesman for the North's committee said in the statement, carried by the Korean Central News Agency, that inter-Korean peace and reunification would not be achieved as long as the US military maintains its presence on the peninsula.
"We will never tolerate the US imperialist military forces' attempt to permanently occupy South Korea and sternly deal with it," it said.
US military presence on the peninsula was firmly cemented by the 1950-1953 Korean War sparked by the invasion by the North of the South.
Some 28,000 US troops are stationed in South Korea to help 650,000 South Korean forces face up to North Korea's 1.2-million-strong army.
Under a mutual defence treaty, the South Korean military comes under US command in times of war. But Seoul is due to take back war-time operational control over its troops by 2012.
The renewed anti-US propaganda came as international efforts aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons remained in a stalemate. ...
~ AFP ~
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