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Politics : Bush Administration's Media Manipulation--MediaGate? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (7906)	7/12/2006 1:03:39 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 9838

N.Korea Demands Rice for ‘Protecting’ South N.Korea Demands Rice for ‘Protecting’ South North Korea on Wednesday demanded the South provide it with promised rice aid, apparently oblivious to the international diplomatic tensions it caused by test-firing several missiles only a week ago. The demand came at an inter-Korean ministerial meeting in Busan. North Korea’s Senior Cabinet Counselor Kwon Ho-ung in his keynote speech hailed the impoverished country’s “Songun” or military-first ideology, which he claimed was helping the South protect its security and benefited “a vast majority” of South Koreans. Notable achievements of the Songun policy include Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and missile tests and mass starvation among its people for the sake of arming the military to the teeth. However, this was the first time the North has named South Koreans among its beneficiaries. The North Korean delegation also urged their South Korean counterparts to visit “sacred places” in the North when they celebrate Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15. They include the Kumsusan Memorial Palace where former leader Kim Il-sung lies embalmed, the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery and others. In other rhetoric, it called for Seoul's annual military drills with the U.S. Forces Korea to be suspended and the National Security Law to be scrapped. But the most immediate call was to deliver half a million tons of rice and raw materials for its light industry, which Seoul has suspended due to the missile test. The North made no further comment on the tests, saying a Foreign Ministry statement on July 6, was sufficient explanation. A ministry spokesman at the time said the missile tests were part of routine military exercises to strengthen the North’s defense capability. South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok in his speech warned things could “get out of control” if the North launches any further missiles. Lee gave short shrift to Kwon’s claims for the Songun policy. “Has anyone in the South asked the North to protect our safety?" he demanded. "North Korea can help us protect our security when it stops launching missiles and dismantles its nuclear program". Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Kwan-se later said Seoul has no intention of providing assistance to Pyongyang at the moment.