Powell seeks formal pact with N. Korea

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, October 11, 2003

Powell seeks formal pact with N. Korea

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday he is trying to satisfy North Korean security concerns through a formal, written agreement in which that country's neighbors would participate.

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U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday he is trying to satisfy North Korean security concerns through a formal, written agreement in which that country's neighbors would participate.

With negotiations over North Korea's weapons programs at a stalemate, Powell said in an interview with a small group of reporters that his aides have been looking for historical precedents that could be applied to the situation.

"My folks have come up with models that span 80 years," Powell said, declining to cite examples. "We will explore ideas with our friends in the weeks ahead."

Six-party talks held in Beijing in late August were inconclusive and there has been no agreement to hold follow-up discussions.

In addition to the United States and North Korea, the process involves China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, all of which, along with the United States, agree that North Korea should dismantle its nuclear weapons programs.

But Pyongyang has spent much of the past year moving ahead with development of its weapons programs. It also has been sending mixed signals about its willingness to continue the six-party discussions.

North Korea sees its budding weapons program as the best way to prevent an attack. Powell hopes the United States and North Korea's neighbors can eliminate that concern through an agreement that falls short of being a full-blown treaty.

Powell will have a chance to exchange ideas with other participants in the six-party format when he travels to Thailand next week for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation foreign ministers conference.

Top diplomats from most Asian and Pacific Rim countries will be attending. Powell leaves for Thailand on Thursday.

Powell has said repeatedly for almost a year that the United States has no plans to attack North Korea, but Pyongyang continues to hold out for a bilateral nonaggression treaty.

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