North Korea announced an immediate withdrawal from the NPT and shook off all obligations under nuclear safeguards

SEOUL, January 10 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - North Korea is ready to impose the "toughest counter-measures" if sanctions and blockades are imposed in the ongoing nuclear standoff, the ruling party's newspaper said Friday, January 10, hours after Pyongyang announced its withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

"If the U.S.-led imperialists try to violate the sovereignty and the right to existence of the Koreans and stamp out their socialist system by means of blockade and sanctions, the People's Army and people of Korea will take the toughest counter-measures against the U.S. imperialists and their followers," said a commentary in the Rodong Sinmun carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The latest comments were issued just hours after Pyongyang announced its withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, further escalating the ongoing nuclear standoff, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

"The U.S. should not misjudge the People's Army and people of Korea, oblivious of the historic lessons," the commentary added.

North Korea warned the United States earlier this week that it would consider economic sanctions a declaration of war.

"Sanctions mean a war and the war knows no mercy," a KCNA commentary said on Tuesday, January 7.

North Korea on Friday announced an immediate withdrawal from the NPT and shook off all obligations under nuclear safeguards in protest against hostile U.S. policy toward Pyongyang.

But it kept the windows for dialogue open, saying it may reverse its decision if the United States agreed to resume oil supplies and stressing it had no plans to make any nuclear weapons.

South Korea expressed "deep regret”

South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung said Friday Pyongyang's withdrawal from a key nuclear treaty had worsened the crisis as he called a meeting of the country's National Security Council (NSC).

"The North's withdrawal from the NPT (non-proliferation treaty) brought the situation on the Korean peninsula from bad to worse by one step," Kim said.

Kim's successor, president-elect Roh Moo-Hyun, also expressed "deep regret" at the North's decision.

"The president-elect had appealed to the North not to take any further steps at minimum that would make the situation worse," Lee Nak-Yon, Roh's chief spokesman said, noting that Roh had urged Pyongyang to reverse its decision to restart nuclear activity.

"It is very regrettable that the North, despite this appeal, took one step further towards confrontation," said the spokesman for Roh.

Senior administration officials were due to gather Friday evening at the NSC meeting, chaired by Unification Minister Jeong Se-Hyun.

"The agenda will focus on what real motive was behind the North's NPT withdrawal and how the government should handle it," a unification ministry official told AFP.

"It will also decide whether to accept the North's counter-offer to hold high-level talks with South Korea later this month."

France, Japan and Russia lead condemnation

France, Japan and Russia led condemnation Friday of North Korea's decision to pull out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

France, which holds the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council, said the move underscored the need for more urgent international action to de-escalate a boiling nuclear issue.

"France condemns this decision which underlines the need for continuing the bilateral, regional and multilateral efforts (to solve the crisis)," Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said in Shanghai.

"It is a serious decision, heavy with consequences that has to be dealt with by the United Nations Security Council. This major development underscores the necessity and the urgency of international mobilization."

While the United States and China said they were still studying the announcement, but Japan issued a statement calling it "extremely regrettable".

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he "will ask North Korea to reverse its decision" as he prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Japanese officials said the government maintained unofficial contacts with North Korea via their embassy in Beijing but declined to say whether Tokyo had contacted Pyongyang since its announcement.

Russia, a permanent security council member with France, China, the United States and Britain, also voiced concern at the regime's brinkmanship.

It "has caused deep concern in Moscow. This move can only aggravate the already tense situation in the Korean peninsula and seriously weaken international treaties ensuring regional security," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It urged Pyongyang to take heed of what the international community was saying.

"(Moscow) hopes that Pyongyang will take account of the unanimous opinion of the world community and of its neighbors and partners and opt to respect its international obligations with respect to (nuclear) non-proliferation," the statement added.

Australia, whose government has diplomatic relations with the North, responded by announcing it was sending a senior delegation to North Korea next week.

"Australia has a vital interest in finding a constructive diplomatic solution to address the nuclear question," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

Last month Australia shelved plans to open an embassy in North Korea, citing concerns over Pyongyang's nuclear program.

Richardson’s talks with visiting Korean diplomats continue

Meanwhile, as the withdraw from the NPT, which seeks to control the spread of nuclear technology, comes also as another bloody nose in the face of the world's only superpower whose former ambassador to the United Nation Bill Richardson was expected to resume talks with two visiting North Korean diplomats after a three-hour discussions on Thursday, January 9, reported BBC’s online service.

Richardson, is acting as mediator between the United States and North Korea.

His talks with the two visiting North Korean diplomats on Thursday were "cordial and candid," a U.S. spokesman was quoted by the BBC as saying, adding that a second three-hour session would begin at 0900 (1600 GMT) on Friday.

Richardson, now governor of New Mexico, said he knew one of the diplomats, deputy ambassador to the UN Han Song Ryol, from when he worked with him in North Korea in 1994.

The Bush administration stressed Richardson would not be speaking on behalf of the U.S. Government, despite being briefed by the American Secretary of State, Colin Powell.