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03 October 2003

Nuclear Weapons Will Not Make North Korea More Secure

Assistant Secretary Kelly's remarks to press October 1

The United States and North Korea's neighbors "will continue to try to make sure that the North Korean side understands that the best way to security in the future is not through nuclear weapons," Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said in remarks to the press in Tokyo October 1.

Kelly told reporters that he had participated in "very good informal talks" with South Korean and Japanese representatives the previous day. The talks, he said, concern "our next approaches in the six-party talks" with North Korea, and "we very much hope that these would be scheduled before long."

Following is a transcript of Kelly's remarks, as released by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo:

(begin transcript)

James A. Kelly, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Comments to the press following his meeting with
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda

October 1, 2003
Prime Minister's Office
Tokyo, Japan

08:55 local time

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KELLY: We had very good informal talks yesterday with the Japanese side and the Republic of Korea about our next approaches in the six-party talks, and we very much hope that these would be scheduled before long. We were a little disappointed at the speech that the DPRK vice minister made at the United Nations. It's a little different from what we had recalled, and we will continue to try to make sure that the North Korean side understands that the best way to security in the future is not through nuclear weapons. This is the effort that we're working together on a very close basis with Japan and the South Korean side, as well as the Chinese and the Russians. So we're hoping to have something within the next month or five or six weeks. But we don't know that for sure. Thank you.

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)