N.Korea About to Declare Itself an Atomic Power

July 23, 2003
By Teruaki Ueno and Martin Nesirky

TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea could declare itself an atomic power soon if the United States does not respond to its proposals for ending a nuclear controversy, diplomatic sources in Tokyo said amid increasing shadow-boxing ahead of likely talks.

The United States said Tuesday it was considering fresh talks with Communist North Korea and China on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons ambitions if they were followed by broader discussions with Japan and South Korea.

But White House spokesman Scott McClellan played down a Washington Post report that said the United States was considering offering North Korea a formal security guarantee in return for ditching its nuclear program.

"We never take options off the table," he said, referring to military action if diplomacy fails.

China, spurred by North Korea's apparent drive to enhance its nuclear arsenal, has been pushing hard for a re-run of the three-way talks it hosted in Beijing in April.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Wednesday talks between North Korea, China and the United States should take place as soon as possible in Beijing.

"The earlier the better," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe conference in Indonesia's Bali when asked if this was likely in early September.

Asked if talks should include South Korea and Japan, Li said: "Whether there are five, six, seven or eight countries is fine, but this is secondary. The most important is to talk."

The diplomatic sources in Tokyo underscored what is at stake by telling Reuters North Korea was preparing to declare itself a member of the nuclear weapons club by September 9 -- the 55th anniversary of the country's founding -- if Washington did not respond positively to its proposals.

Those proposals include a non-aggression pact that is further than the written guarantees Washington may be prepared to give.

CHINA'S WORRIES

"If the United States refused to strike a deal in one way or another, North Korea could go nuclear," one diplomatic source said. "This is what China worries about the most, and China as a mediator will lose face."

There was no immediate response from the United States, but North Korea has followed a pattern of setting deadlines and issuing tough statements ahead of talks or concessions.

North Korea has kept up a flow of invective against the United States and its allies for their efforts to seek ways to curb what they see as illegal trade by the North.

"The United States recently brought together riff-raffs to discuss ways of completely blockading (North Korea)," said the North's official KCNA news agency referring to a recent meeting in Australia.

It has also criticized the allies' plans to commemorate the Armistice Agreement that ended fighting in the Korean War 50 years ago on July 27. There is still no formal peace treaty.

A Japanese television station, Fuji Television, reported on its Web Site former U.S. president Jimmy Carter may visit Pyongyang to meet leader Kim Jong-il in September to try to break the nuclear stalemate.

But there was no official confirmation of this, and President Bush's administration seems unlikely to approve of it. Carter held talks with Kim's father Kim Il-sung in 1994 during the last nuclear crisis.

As during the armistice talks 50 years ago, trust is crucial, and the main interpreter at those negotiations told Reuters that was in short supply.

"I don't trust them very much," he said of North Korean statements it has atomic bombs. "All these recent revelations of nuclear developments, I wonder if they're really true, or if they are not just waving a painted poker to try and scare people."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&ncid=578&e=3&u=/nm/20030723/ts_nm/korea_north_dc