Pyongyang Calls South Korean President's US Trip 'Prelude to War'

RIA Novosti

12:52 10/05/2013

SEOUL, May 10 (RIA Novosti) – North Korea has called the South Korean President's recent visit to the United States a "prelude to war," Yonhap reported on Friday citing North Korean media sources.

"It is a curtain-raiser to a dangerous war to invade" a North Korean official was cited as saying, Yonhap reported.

South Korea's President Park Geun-hye took office in February, and the visit to the United States was her first official foreign trip as President.

North Korea was a key point on the agenda for her meetings with US President Barack Obama, given the worrying escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula following the isolated state's third nuclear test in February.

After meeting with President Park, President Obama said "The days when North Korea could create a crisis and elicit concessions, those days are over."

President Park voiced South Korea's position that North Korea had "no choice but to change."

Earlier this week reports emerged that two North Korean mid-range missiles, reportedly prepared for launch last month had been withdrawn from their coastal positions.

This, combined with reports that Pyongyang had lifted its highest combat alert for its armed forces, led to media speculation that a change in mood may be afoot in North Korea.

However, this most recent bellicose rhetoric on the issue of President Park's US trip does little to allay concerns over tensions on the Korean peninsula.