Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=7/27/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-278702

TITLE=POWELL / KOREA (L)

BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST

DATELINE=SEOUL

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell says he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will press North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, when he visits Moscow in the coming days, to make a return summit visit to South Korea and accept the U-S offer to resume dialogue. Mr. Powell spoke in Seoul after talks with South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from the South Korean capital.

TEXT: The talks here focussed on the parallel efforts of the United States and South Korea to re-engage North Korea in a political dialogue. And both allies are expressing hope that the surprise train journey by Kim Jong-Il to Moscow will be a catalyst for a new talks.

At a news conference with his South Korean counterpart Han Seng-Soo, Secretary Powell said it would be "very useful" if President Putin pointed out to Mr. Kim the importance of re-opening the contacts:

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His economy is in a very terrible state and he has a variety of problems and those problems can only be dealt with as he reaches out and begins a dialogue, both by accepting the invitation to come to the south and responding to the U-S willingness to begin discussions.

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The Secretary said he hopes Mr. Putin will also underline to his guest what he called "the dangers inherent" in North Korea's efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles and its proliferation of related technologies none of which, Mr. Powell said, are in the best interests of the North Korean people.

The Clinton administration had engaged in intensive talks with North Korea on a deal under which Pyongyang would have halted its missile program in exchange for increased political recognition and aid, though an agreement could not be concluded before President Clinton left office.

Early-on, the Bush White House suspended the contacts to allow for a policy review in a move widely reported to have irritated South Korean President Kim and set back his efforts to arrange a second summit with Kim Jong-Il.

President Bush gave the go-ahead for a renewal of the talks early last month, and though diplomats of the two sides have held meetings in New York, there has been no definitive reply from Pyongyang. In his comments here, Secretary Powell said he is not troubled by the lack of a response thus far:

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We have finished our policy review. We've given them the outlines of that policy review. And I think they are acting in a very deliberate way, as they tend to. And they are studying it very carefully and making their own judgment about what they want to put on the table. And so we will be patient and wait for their response.

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The Secretary said the U-S offer is unconditional and the sides can meet at any time and place of North Korea's choosing.

He reiterated the administration's intention to raise in addition to missile and proliferation issues -- what it considers to be Pyongyang's threatening conventional force deployments, and said the U-S side will be prepared to respond to North Korea's "broad agenda" as well.

Mr. Powell continues his Asian mission in Beijing Saturday, where Korean issues are also expected to figure in his talks with senior Chinese officials including President Jiang Zemin. (Signed)

NEB/DAG/KBK