North no match for us, says Seoul

Roh said on Wednesday in Canberra that his government8217;s priority is to avoid armed confrontation with the North and that it knows the North8217;s intentions better than any other country.

8220;Conquest by the North is impossible and the idea of it ruling the South is even more impossible,8221; Roh said, adding: 8220;A country that cannot rule another does not try to conquer.8221;

North Korea declared on October 9 it had successfully conducted its first nuclear test and became a nuclear state.

It said three weeks later that it would return to six-party talks aimed at ending the North8217;s nuclear weapons programme in return for aid and better ties with US after staying away for more than a year. But no date has been set for the new round of the talks.

The Koreas remain technically at war because the truce ending the 1950-53 Korean War has never been replaced with a peace treaty.