US and South Korean officials focused on ways to convince North Korea to end its nuclear program yesterday as an American intelligence official warned that Pyongyang could now arm a missile with a nuclear weapon.
Both Seoul and Washington are urging the North to return to six-nation talks on halting its nuclear program, and South Korea on Thursday strongly warned the North against conducting a nuclear test, following reports that it may be preparing its first such trial.
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young met yesterday with US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Washington's top envoy on the nuclear issue. Chung said that a nuclear test would "shake the fundamentals of the framework" of the six-nation talks, and that the North "should judge and act prudently." Hill told reporters that the six-way talks are still the best way to resolve the nuclear dispute. The talks have been stalled since last June after three rounds.
Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told a Senate committee on Thursday that North Korea has the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear weapon, a potentially significant advance for the communist state. But two defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US intelligence assessments maintain Pyongyang is several years away from developing a nuclear-armed missile that could reach the US.
US President George W. Bush said he wanted to reach a diplomatic solution on the North's nuclear program. He said that what he wants to do is "work with our allies on this issue and develop a consensus, a common approach, to the consequences of [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-il."
Resuming the six-nation talks -- among the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia -- gained urgency in February when the North claimed it already has produced nuclear weapons and would boycott further talks. It has since threatened to increase its nuclear arsenal, and has asked to be treated as an equal partner in the nuclear talks.
Japan and the US have begun discussions on whether to refer the North Korean nuclear issue to the UN Security Council for arbitration if the North refuses to agree to resume the six-party talks before the end of June. However, the two countries do not intend to immediately seek UN sanctions, and instead want to pressure the North to return to the negotiations, Kyodo said, citing unidentified government sources.
Hill's Asian tour comes amid concerns that North Korea may be harvesting plutonium for more weapons after it apparently shut down a nuclear reactor, and that it might be preparing for its first nuclear test. Chung said there was no evidence that the North is getting ready for a test.
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