SEOUL, Aug 18: North Korea warned on Monday it would not dismantle its nuclear arsenal unless the United States changed its policy towards Pyongyang, toughening its stance ahead of next week’s six-nation nuclear talks.

The North Korean warning came as a maritime skirmish heightened tensions on the peninsula, just hours after Pyongyang announced it was withdrawing athletes from the World Student Games starting in South Korea this week.

US and South Korean military authorities also launched 12-day joint war games as scheduled Monday, despite Pyongyang’s protests against the massive military maneuvers.

Pyongyang has denounced US-South Korean military drills as part of Washington’s hostile policy which it reiterated Monday should be dropped to settle the 10-month-old crisis over its nuclear development.

“If the US does not express its will to make a switchover in its policy towards the DPRK (North Korea), the DPRK will have no option but to declare that it can not dismantle its nuclear deterrent force at the talks,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

North Korea is to meet the United States, Japan, China, Russia and South Korea in Beijing on August 27-29 for talks aimed at resolving the crisis, which started in October.

KCNA said Washington should prove it had changed its policy towards North Korea by agreeing to a non-aggression pact and diplomatic normalization, and pledging not to hinder Pyongyang’s international trade.

The North’s foreign ministry last week said Pyongyang would make these demands at the talks, which were set after weeks of intense Chinese-led diplomacy.

The United States has already rejected a non-aggression pact although Secretary of State Colin Powell has suggested there may be a way for the US Congress to take note of a less formal arrangement.

The nuclear crisis erupted when the United States accused Pyongyang of reneging on a 1994 bilateral nuclear accord—AFP