Obama urges North Korea to "pursue peace"

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- In a direct challenge to North Korean leaders, President Barack Obama implored them "to have the courage to pursue peace" while warning of the wrath of the world if they don't. Failure, he said Monday, would mean a future without dignity, respect or hope for its people.

Obama stood by his pledge for a globe without nuclear weapons, declaring flatly that the United States has more than it needs and can cut its arsenal without weakening its security or that of its allies. That assessment put him on a collision course with congressional Republicans who say any significant cuts would undermine the U.S. ability to deter aggression.

As Obama spoke of peace in the midst of an international nuclear summit, tensions rose in the Korean peninsula. Seoul warned it might shoot down a North Korean rocket carrying a satellite if it violates South Korean territory. The United States maintains the launch amounts to a test of North Korea's rocketry.

In unusually personal terms, Obama said he spoke of his wish for further nuclear reductions as the president of the only nation ever to use nuclear weapons, as a commander whose country's nuclear codes are never far from his side, and as a protective father eager to erase the threat of nuclear annihilation. Read More