ACCESSION NUMBER:334981
FILE ID:EUR505
DATE:03/25/94
TITLE:PERRY ON NORTH KOREA: "NO CRISIS AT THIS POINT" (03/25/94)
TEXT:*94032505.EUR
*EUR505 03/25/94
PERRY ON NORTH KOREA: "NO CRISIS AT THIS POINT"
(But U.S. taking "prudent" defensive measures) (660)
By Jim Shevis
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- Defense Secretary William J. Perry says "there is no military
crisis at this point" between the United States, its South Korean ally, and
North Korea.
At the same time, Perry told reporters March 25, the United States is taking
"prudent" defensive measures in case the on-again, off-again dispute with
North Korea were to escalate.
Perry's remarks came at a Pentagon news briefing called for the purpose of
telling journalists the results of his recent trip to Russia, Kazakhstan,
Ukraine and Belarus -- the four new independent states (NIS) that inherited
nuclear weapons at the breakup of the Soviet Union.
But after a brief rundown on the NIS trip, Perry found himself answering
questions almost solely about U.S. concern over North Korea's refusal to
allow adequate international inspection of the communist nation's nuclear
program.
1
"North Korea has a million-man army. In addition, it has had an opportunity
to develop a nuclear bomb, and its leadership is erratic and unstable,"
Perry said, ticking off U.S. worries.
The possibility that North Korea has a nuclear device "aggravates the
present situation," Perry said.
President Clinton ordered shipment of a battalion of Patriot missile
interceptors to South Korea on March 21, and "they are in the process of
being sent now," Perry said. The missiles will be shipped by sea, and
deployed in about a month, he said.
"If there were to be a military confrontation with North Korea, the most
powerful contribution the United States could make to repel that would be
tactical air," Perry said. "We could do this in a matter of a few days."
Perry said he could not provide further details on U.S. defense
preparations. "We just cannot discuss military contingency plans in
public," he said.
"We are still pursuing diplomatic efforts. We haven't given up on that. If
that fails, I believe the next step has to be sanctions," he said.
The United Nations Security Council is considering a resolution calling on
North Korea to reverse its stance on international inspection.
If the United Nations decides to authorize sanctions against North Korea,
they could be "quite damaging," Perry said.
Earlier, Perry described his trip to the former Soviet Union as "pragmatic
partnership in action." The purpose of the trip was to expedite conversion
of strategic weaponry to peaceful use.
Perry said that agreements worth over $165 million in defense conversion
assistance were signed during his trip.
"In Russia, we met with Defense Minister (Pavel) Grachev and discussed the
'Partnership for Peace' plan with him. He announced that Russia would join
the partnership, and have its application into NATO by the end of the
month," Perry said.
"Partnership for Peace" is a U.S. proposal to permit limited membership in
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for former Warsaw Pact member
states.
"In Ukraine, we went to an intercontinental ballistic missile launching
site, where there were SS19s and SS24s, all of them targeted at the United
States at one time," Perry said.
"This is where dismantlement is taking place," he said. Ukraine has already
shipped 120 warheads to Russia for dismantlement under an agreement worked
out among the two countries and the United States, Perry said.
Perry said two Ukrainian soldiers escorted him to the well of a missile to
show him how it could be launched.
"I have to tell you, it was a stunning experience to stand there and watch
the controls of missiles that could destroy every major city in the United
States," he said.
Perry said his trip to the former Soviet launch site at Baikonur in
Kazakhstan was "a very moving personal experience" because he had spent
much of his career studying the facility from a distance and now had seen
it close up.
1NNN
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