Nuclear Issue Should be Solved Through Dialogue: Kim Dae-jung

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 10, 2003

Nuclear Issue Should be Solved Through Dialogue: Kim Dae-jung

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung reiterated on Friday that the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should be resolved peacefully through dialogue.

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South Korean President Kim Dae-jung reiterated on Friday that the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should be resolved peacefully through dialogue.

Kim's comments came after the DPRK announced earlier Friday that it had withdrawn from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

Calling the nuclear standoff a "life or death situation," the outgoing president reiterated, "we have to use every effort available to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue," the national news agency Yonhap News quoted him as saying.

"The North's withdrawal from the NPT brought the situation on the Korean Peninsula from bad to worse by one step," Kim said during a luncheon meeting with leaders of a women community at thePresidential Office.

"We have to do our utmost for a settlement through diplomatic efforts and inter-Korean dialogue," Kim stressed, adding that patience is necessary in thawing the deadlock.

"We have to make the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. For this purpose, we have to be patient and persistent in achieving a peaceful solution," he said.

The president added that through the South Korean government's active persuasion efforts, "the situation is steering toward a direction in which the United States and the North have dialogue."

The DPRK announced its withdrawal from the treaty on Friday via its national news agency, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), but said it had no intention of developing nuclear weapons.

Kim underscored the importance of the presence of US troops stationed in South Korea. "The US military's presence on the peninsula provides critical help in stemming concerns over the North's invasion of the South," he said.

At the same time, South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun expressed deep regret at the DPRK's decision to pull out of the NPT.

The spokesman for Roh, Lee Nak-yon, was quoted by Yonhap as saying the president-elect had urged the DPRK to give up its decision to resume nuclear facility operations and to prevent further escalation of the nuclear crisis.

The Millennium Democratic Party, to which Roh belongs, also issued a statement on Friday, urging dialogue on the escalated crisis.

"The South Korean government immediately needs to learn what the North wants and should seek a solution through close discussions with the United States, Japan, China, Russia and the European Union," said the statement.

The president-elect earlier Friday named one of his closest aides as a special envoy to Washington to defuse the nuclear standoff.

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