US Secretary of State Colin Powell called on North Korea to refrain from making military threats and to take seriously US proposals for ending the impasse over the country's nuclear weapons programs.
In Japan, a ferry linked to the nuclear program arrived at Niigata yesterday, defying protesters who want to stop the trips in which it takes back goods and cash seen as vital for the ailing communist state.
PHOTO: APN
Powell met for an hour Wednesday with South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan and then commented on last week's six-nation talks in China on East Asian security issues.
"We are looking for a diplomatic solution," Powell said. "We have no intention of invading North Korea or attacking North Korea."
In contrast, he said, North Korea has engaged in "threats and truculent statements that are designed to frighten us. We will not be frightened, nor will we be caused by such threats to take actions that we do not believe are in our interests or the interests of our partners."
He expressed hope that North Korea will respond in a serious way to the US proposals that were spelled out at the meeting in Beijing.
Powell showed his irritation toward North Korea after being asked to respond to a statement by Pyongyang's chief delegate in Beijing, Kim Yong-il, that North Korea planned to carry out a nuclear test.
Kim also said his country has the means to deliver nuclear weapons, an apparent reference to its highly developed missile program.
At the same time, Kim told the gathering in Beijing that North Korea would be willing to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs if the US met a number of conditions.
The Bush administration hopes to cut a deal with North Korea that would involve economic benefits and security guarantees for North Korea in exchange for nuclear disarmament.
Powell declined to speculate on when the next round of six-nation talks will be held. In addition to the US and North Korea, other countries taking part in the process are South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.
In recent days, Chinese officials have said that both the US and North Korea have to change their policies if there is to be forward movement.
Asked to respond to those comments, Yoon registered disagreement with Beijing's position. "Key policy-makers of the United States have already expressed that they don't have any intention to invade North Korea," he said. "They don't have any hostile policy."
Yoon's activities Wednesday also included a White House meeting with President George W. Bush.
In Japan, the Mangyongbong-92 arrived for the second time in 10 days at the northern port of Niigata, where it was awaited by protesters, pro-Pyongyang Korean residents and hundreds of police.
Over 100 protesters, many holding portraits of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his late father Kim Il-sung with a big "X" over their faces, shouted "Go home" and ripped up the pictures.
The ethnic Koreans, meanwhile, welcomed the ship by singing Korean songs. The ferry's passengers lining the rail responded by waving small North Korean flags.
Anti-North Korean sentiment has flared up in Japan following Pyongyang's admission last September that it kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies.
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