FM Agree to Hold Roh-Bush Summit in May
2003-03-31
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States will positively consider Seoul-initiated strategy for the settlement of the standoff involving North Korean nuclear development program.
Emerging from a meeting with visiting South Korean Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Yoon Young-kwan Friday, Powell said, “My colleague presented us with a roadmap of things that we might do with respect to the situation with North Korea.”
“I found it to be an interesting approach which we will be examining,” he said in a brief press interview.
Yoon explained that the roadmap has been designed to induce North Korea into the U.S.-initiated multilateral dialogue format and prevent the nuclear standoff from escalating.
But he declined to elaborate, only saying they “provided item by item with regard to the new device.”
During a separate meeting with journalists accompanying him in his U.S. visit, Yoon said he called on Washington to take more flexible attitude in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue.
The two sides agreed on the need to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue as it is different from the Iraqi case.
Regarding the realignment of the U.S. troops stationed here, they shared the need to fortify the combined forces defense capabilities through close consultations.
They agreed to hold the summit meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and President George W. Bush in May and continue talks on details and timetables.
Seoul proposed a setup incorporating an “intensive consultation mechanism” between the defense and foreign ministers of the two nations to comprehensively deal with North Korean nuclear issue, while the U.S. expressed gratitude for Seoul's decision to dispatch troops to Iraq.
Yoon also met with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to discuss security issues on the Korean peninsula.
Powell recalled that when the United States started dialogue with North Korea last year before the nuclear issue came into the open, the U.S. was thinking in terms of a bold initiative.
He elaborated that the initiative would have moved the relationship between the nations in the region and North Korea onto a different plane in a way in which the U.S. could help North Korea with its economic and hunger problems, as well as with other difficulties experienced within its society.
He noted those kinds of ideas and options “are on the table” when he was asked to comment on Yoon's statement on the “bold initiative” given during a speech at the Johns Hopkins University just before the meeting.
Powell emphasized that North Korea will be able to expect a great deal once it abandons its nuclear programs and complies with various international commitments.
“I think a lot is out there waiting for North Korea once it realizes its obligation to comply with the international agreements and bilateral agreements they have previously entered into with respect to nuclear weapons,” he said.
He vowed the U.S. would pursue peaceful resolution of North Korean nuclear issue through diplomacy, saying it is “spending a great deal of time pursuing these diplomatic alternatives.”
Powell reiterated the U.S. stance that the North Korean nuclear issue should be addressed through multilateral format rather than through a bilateral dialogue.
“We continue to believe that the proper way to handle the nuclear situation with North Korea is through multilateral dialogue. It is an issue that affects not just North Korea and the United States, but the other nations in the region,” he said.
Powell went on to say that the U.S. has been pressing ahead; seeking a variety of channels through which such discussions can begin.
He rebuffed the allegation that the U.S. is not able to focus on the Korean issue because of distractions caused by the Iraqi situation
Source : www.korea.net
