North Korea said today it would not trade its nuclear weapons for "petty" economic aid and announced no-sail zones ahead of artillery exercises near the disputed maritime border with South Korea, dpa cited reports as saying. The Stalinist state said that it had developed atomic weapons to counter the "deepening" US nuclear threat and not as something to trade for economic aid, the Yonhap news agency reported citing the Korean Central News Agency. North Korea declared several no-sail zones near the border with its southern neighbour ahead of renewed artillery exercises in the coming days, a government website reported Friday. Seoul's National Oceanographic Research Institute confirmed that it had received notification from Pyongyang of firing practice in six maritime zones to the east and west of the Korean Peninsula, for three days starting Saturday. The exercises were planned in North Korean waters, close to the disputed border with South Korea, Yonhap reported. In January, North Korean artillery fired hundreds of shells into the sea over a period of three days, raising tensions amid speculation that the stalled six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme might resume. In addition to the two Koreas, the talks also include the US, Japan, Russia and China. The shells all fell on the North Korean side of the border, but Pyongyang drew international criticism for its behaviour. Tensions over the maritime border, which has never been recognized by North Korea, have been high since a naval skirmish in November left a North Korean patrol boat in flames. The Korean navies also clashed in 1999 and in 2002. Pyongyang could be trying to strengthen its hand for the talks on nuclear disarmament or potential peace talks with South Korea, some analysts said according to the BBC.
