Powell Rules Out Nonaggression Treaty with DPRK

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Powell Rules Out Nonaggression Treaty with DPRK

United States Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday ruled out the possibility of signing a nonaggression treaty with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

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United States Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday ruled out the possibility of signing a nonaggression treaty with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Powell rejected the DPRK proposal at a joint press conference with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Japan's Defense Agency Director-General, Shigeru Ishiba.

He said signing such a treaty with Pyongyang would reward the DPRK for decisions to resume development of nuclear weapons and reactivate mothballed nuclear power facilities.

But Powell reiterated that Washington had no plan to invade the DPRK.

"The United States is not seeking to precipitate a crisis," he said, adding that the DPRK knows that the United States does not intend to start a war with it.

Pyongyang, which accused Washington over its listing of the DPRK in the "axis of evil" and with threatening it with preemptive strikes, has said that it is ready to discuss its nuclear issue with Washington if the latter agrees to sign a mutual nonaggression treaty.

Prior to the press conference, Powell met with Kawaguchi and Ishiba at the State Department for the annual meeting of the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee. United States Deputy Defense Minister Paul Wolfowitz also took part in the consultations on security and defense issues on behalf of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

In a joint declaration issued after the meeting, both the United States and Japan urged the DPRK to dismantle its alleged nuclear programs.

The Japanese side emphasized in the declaration that the normalization talks between Japan and the DPRK were "important channels" for the two countries to resolve their security issues.

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