South Korea's ruling party fears U.S. getting emotional

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's ruling party said Saturday it feared Washington might be getting emotional in its handling of a nuclear standoff with North Korea, a day after President Bush left open the possibility of a military strike.

"North Korea's recent moves cannot be praised, but we cannot help expressing concern as to whether emotions have interfered with U.S. efforts to resolve the North's nuclear problem," Chang Chun-hyong, a deputy spokesman of the South's ruling Millennium Democratic Party, said in a statement.

Bush said Friday that "all options are on the table," suggesting that the United States could consider military action to curb the Stalinist regime's nuclear activities.

South Korea in the middle

Bush and his aides usually take care to state that the United States has no intention of attacking North Korea. In his comments Friday, Bush did not repeat that message.

On Saturday, North Korea accused Bush of planning to invade the impoverished state and warning that a conflict on the divided Korean Peninsula would devastate the South as well.

Chang also referred to remarks by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who called North Korea "a terrorist regime" on Wednesday.

"We make it clear that there should be no mistake in judgment and a worst-case scenario should never unfold on the Korean Peninsula," Chang said in his statement.

South Korea, while saying it wants to continue its close military alliance with Washington, fears that the standoff between the United States and North Korea could lead to clashes and has urged the United States to seek a peaceful settlement.

"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching closer to the phase of serious crisis," the North's state-run daily Rodong Sinmun said. "There is no guarantee that the U.S. warhawks, seized by extreme war fever, would not ignite a war of aggression."

"This war will not bring disasters to the North only," the newspaper said. "It is, therefore, a task facing all Koreans in the North and the South to avert the danger of a war and protect peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Sanctions possible

North Korea's long-standing strategy has been to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington by arguing that the U.S. stance poses a threat to South Korea as well. It warned Thursday that if the United States builds up reinforcements in the region, it could trigger "a total war."

The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors will meet next Wednesday to discuss the standoff and is almost certain to send the dispute to the U.N. Security Council, which may discuss economic sanctions against Pyongyang.

U.S. officials have spoken before about their ability to respond militarily to any potential hostile action by North Korea, in part to dispel any hopes Pyongyang may have about taking advantage of Bush's focus on Iraq.