Roundup: US Official Calls for Referring DPRK Nuke Issue to UN

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 23, 2003

Roundup: US Official Calls for Referring DPRK Nuke Issue to UN

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US Undersecretary of State John Bolton said in Seoul on Wednesday that the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will be referred to the UN Security Council this week and stressed the issue is not a bilateral one.

However, a Russian envoy, who just returned to Moscow from Pyongyang, said that the DPRK looks forward to resuming dialogue with the United States while an ongoing inter-Korea meeting is discussing issues including the nuke dispute.

Bolton: Nuclear Issue to be Referred to UN

Bolton told a news conference during a two-day visit to South Korea that the US government's position was that the nuclear issue"should be brought to the Security Council" and other members in the Security Council such as "France and Britain also share the view with the United States."

He told reporters that "we see a consensus emerging. Probably bythe end of this week, there would be a third IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) resolution (on the issue) ... and I have theconfidence that the matter would be referred to the Security Council within this week."

Bolton also indicated that the South Korean government agreed with the US decision, saying, "We're glad that the United States and the Republic of Korea see the matter the same way."

When asked if the Security Council will impose economic sanctions on the DPRK, the US official said, "All options are on the table."

He reiterated his government's previous stance that it has no intention of invading the DPRK and, if the DPRK dismantles its nuclear program, the US government will reconsider its approach tothe country.

He stressed that the nuclear issue is not a bilateral issue between the United States and the DPRK and the US government will not sign a non-aggression treaty with the DPRK.

Prior to the news conference, Bolton met with South Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sung-hong, Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik and other government officials in a bid to gain support for the US decision to refer the nuclear issue to the United Nations.

Earlier, on Jan. 11, the DPRK ambassador to the United Nations warned that any sanctions to be imposed by the UN Security Councilon his country would be seen as a "declaration of war."

Powell: Progress Made on DPRK Nuke Issue

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell confirmed that progress has been made in resolving the DPRK nuclear issue though it has yet to amount to a breakthrough.

"I'm comfortable that we are making some progress, but I don't think I'm predicting a breakthrough for you," Powell said Tuesday in an interview with local reporters, which was published by the US State Department on Wednesday.

The secretary of state described the negotiations with the DPRKas "a very difficult, arduous process."

"It's a very delicate time now and a lot of what we're doing, we're doing it quietly and with some discretion. But I think we made some progress," Powell said.

DPRK Willing to Resume Dialogue with US

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said on Wednesday that the DPRK is willing to resume dialogue with the United States to settle the crisis concerning its nuclear program,the Interfax news agency reported.

He said this idea was announced in Pyongyang and the DPRK "is prepared for a dialogue with Washington, naturally, and is considering the opinions of other countries as well, including Russia, regarding a settlement on the Korean Peninsula."

During a visit to the DPRK on Jan. 18-21 as the Russian president's special envoy, Losyukov held a six-hour meeting with DPRK leader Kim Jong Il.

In Pyongyang, he presented Russia's three-point package proposal for solving the crisis, which includes a nuclear-free status for the Korean Peninsula, a security guarantee for the DPRKand resumption of humanitarian assistance and economic aid to the DPRK.

Losyukov said Pyongyang responded to Russia's proposal "with interest."

Inter-Korean Talks Held

At the first plenary of the Ninth Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting held in Seoul Wednesday, the South Korean delegation urgedthe DPRK to rescind its recent decision to drop out of the nuclearNon-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), conveying global concerns about the nuclear issue. It also called upon the DPRK to take concrete measures to have dialogue with the United States.

South Korean chief negotiator Jeong Se-hyun, who is also the country's unification minister, reiterated his government's opposition to the DPRK's development of nuclear weapons, adding that the nuclear issue should be addressed peacefully through dialogue.

But, according to the South Korean side, the DPRK delegation again expressed the position that the nuclear issue should be discussed between Pyongyang and Washington, not between South Korea and the DPRK.

The DPRK delegation reiterated that the country "has no intention of developing nuclear weapons, and its nuclear activities will be limited to peaceful goals such as electricity generation."

The DPRK also indicated that the menace to peace on the Korean Peninsula "does not stem from the inside but from the outside."

It also stressed the importance of fulfilling a joint declaration issued at the South-North summit between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong Il in 2000.

Apart from the nuclear issue, on the agenda are also the reconstruction of inter-Korean railways and roads across the demilitarized zone and steps to fulfill a series of agreements on the development of a special industrial zone in the DPRK's Kaesong,safety in maritime navigation, travel and cargo shipments.

The ministerial meeting, the first formal contact between the two sides since the nuclear issue erupted, will last until Friday.

Also on Wednesday, a South Korean delegation arrived in Pyongyang, the DPRK capital, for the second meeting of a joint panel for the reconnection of the inter-Korea railway and road links.

South Korea and the DPRK have also agreed to start the construction of a family reunion center in April and hold another round of family reunions in late February after a three-day meeting between the Red Cross societies of the two sides.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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