This is another provocation to the north which has made every possible effort to make dialogue successful for reconciliation and unity of all Koreans and a sinister act of chilling the hard-won atmosphere of north-south dialogue.

All Koreans and the world public sincerely hoped that the good atmosphere for mending the inter-Korean relations provided by the talks between the high-ranking officials from the north and the south in Inchon on Oct. 4 would lead to repairing the north-south relations and stabilizing the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Regrettably, the hard-won atmosphere of reconciliation is facing a serious challenge from its beginning, due to the dishonest behavior of the south Korean authorities who have not yet got rid of their outdated idea of confrontation.

The south Korean chief executive, at the recent ASEM Summit held in Milan, Italy dared rattle the nerves of the DPRK by asserting "the north should undergo a genuine change, dismantle its nukes and open its closed door." She also ballyhooed about "human rights of inhabitants in the north and their hard living," jabbering that "the north should approach dialogue with sincerity, away from its double-dealing attitude."

She again grumbled in the international arena about the north's nuclear deterrence which serves as a mighty treasured sword for protecting the sovereignty of the country and dignity of the nation under the prevailing situation and provides a sure guarantee for preserving peace and security and successfully pushing ahead with economic construction and the work for improving people's standard of living. What she uttered is nothing but an expression of undisguised repugnancy toward the DPRK.

Explicitly speaking once again, the DPRK can never abandon its nuclear deterrence unless the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK and its nuclear threat against all Koreans are completely stopped. The DPRK's nukes can never be bartered for anything.

The DPRK never forgets that the south Korean authorities hurled riff-raffs into staging a leaflet-scattering operation against it in the wake of the north-south high-level talks in a bid to chill the atmosphere of the improvement of the north-south relations. It was none other than the south Korean authorities who connived at, manipulated and zealously backed the operations behind the scene, asserting "they were conducted by a non-governmental organization of its own accord and there was no legal ground to halt them."

All facts clearly show who is making the prospect of dialogue gloomy.

One cannot but question whether it is possible to hold the second round of the north-south high-level contact under such deplorable situation as now.

To the regret of all Koreans, the present situation is quite contrary to the hard-won atmosphere for the improvement of the north-south relations.

The inter-Korean relations are now at the crucial crossroads -- whether to repeat the evil cycle of confrontation or to rev up the atmosphere for their improvement and enter a path of fresh development.

Now is the time to make a policy decision helpful to creating the atmosphere of dialogue and bringing about peaceful environment, not an anachronistic act against a dialogue partner.

If the south Korean authorities truly hope for the next round of high-level contact for the improvement of the inter-Korean relations, they should be prudent in talking and deed and move to create an atmosphere for repairing the relations, to begin with.