North Korea Warns World Leaders To Not Raise The Issue Of It's Nuclear Program In Next Week's Seoul Summit

North Korea Issues Warning About South's Nuclear Summit -- Voice of America

North Korea is warning world leaders not to raise the issue of its nuclear weapons during a summit next week in South Korea. The reclusive country says it will consider as a "declaration of war" any statement about the North Korean issue at the Nuclear Security Summit.

At a time when tensions are again quickly escalating on the Korean peninsula, Seoul is about to host dozens of top-level foreign dignitaries - including the presidents of the United State and China.

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More News On North Korean Threats Against The Upcoming Nuclear Summit In South Korea

North Korea Warns Against Criticism of Nuclear Program -- New York Times
N. Korea blasts Seoul over upcoming summit -- AFP
N. Korea sharpens criticism of upcoming Seoul summit -- Asia One
Serious concerns over North Korea, Iran to come up in Seoul -- Reuters
N. Korea warns against discussing it in summit -- Korea Herald
Obama to Visit DMZ Before Nuclear Security Summit -- National Journal
Obama To Visit S. Korea At Weekend For Bilateral Talks, Global Nuclear Summit -- RTT
Obama to visit Korea for talks with Lee, global nuclear summit -- Korea Times
What South Korea Gains From Hosting the Nuclear Security Summit -- Scott A. Snyder, Council On Foreign Relations

North Korea Says Plutonium "Weaponized" And Off-Limits

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (C) visits the ninth squad of the 2752 army unit at an undisclosed place in North Korea in this undated picture released by North Korea's official news agency KCNA on January 18, 2009. (KCNA/Reuters)

From Reuters:

BEIJING (Reuters) – North Korea says it has "weaponized" enough plutonium for four to five nuclear weapons, a U.S. expert said on Saturday after talks in Pyongyang.

North Korea has made a series of demands as well as offers of cooperation over its nuclear program as U.S. President-elect Barack Obama prepares to enter the White House.

The North's leader Kim Jong-il appears to have given up handling many day-to-day tasks after suffering a stroke and this may explain the North's hardening stance, Selig Harrison, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a policy institute in Washington D.C., said.

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My Comment: North Korea is hoping that the new administration in Washington would give what it wants, and forgo discussions of nuclear inspection and verification. It is the inspection protocols that North Korea has rejected .... they do not want outsiders to check out how they do their business.

From my point of view, the 6 nations who are party to these talks should stick to their guns. If there is no inspection and verification .... there will be no support or assistance.

My fear is that the Obama administration will not do this .... they will follow the same strategy and policy agenda as they did when they were in power. They will choose to ignore North Korean behavior, and will accept their assurances that everything is OK.

This is playing with fire .... with consequences that can easily explode overnight in Asia.