A US military commander said that the US and South Korea could repel any attack by North Korea even if it has one or two nuclear bombs, as a top South Korean envoy headed yesterday to Washington to push for new disarmament talks with the North.
General Leon LaPorte, commander of the US military in South Korea, said he believes that North Korea has at least one or two nuclear weapons, but that the combined American and South Korean forces on the peninsula could deter or defeat any attack from the North.
Washington and Seoul "retain our ability to deter North Korean aggression and if required, to decisively defeat the North Korean threat if they were to threaten South Korea," LaPorte said in an interview with Seoul's PBC Radio.
North Korea claimed in February it had nuclear weapons and has since then made moves that would allow it to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium.
Meanwhile, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young was heading to Washington to meet with Vice President Dick Cheney and other US officials and lawmakers. Chung planned to discuss his recent meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who told Chung that Pyongyang could return to the stalled six-nation talks as early as next month -- if Washington respects it as a partner.
"We will continue diplomatic efforts, putting weight on the possibility of [North Korea's] return in July" as Kim has suggested, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told reporters yesterday. "Through maximum diplomatic efforts, we will try to resume the talks in July."
Ban said a "positive atmosphere" has been created for resumption of the talks and that "it is desirable for North Korea to return to the talks without further delay ..."
North Korea has stayed away from arms talks -- also involving South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the US -- for more than a year.
Chung's Washington visit is aimed in part at dispelling US concerns over whether Kim will remain committed to his remarks hinting at a return to the nuclear negotiations, said Hong Seok-hyun, South Korea's ambassador to Washington.
The US has been skeptical of Kim's comments, urging North Korea to set a firm date to return to the arms talks.
"It is true there are doubts about whether words will lead to actions," Hong told South Korea's MBC Radio yesterday. "Minister Chung's visit to the United States is important for dispelling these."
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