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N Korea willing to give up nuke progarmme if US promises not to attack
United Nations, Oct 03: North Korea is committed to abandoning its nuclear weapons program if it gets a promise from the United States not to attack, the top UN envoy to the region said after talks with a senior North Korean diplomat.
United Nations, Oct 03: North Korea is committed to abandoning its nuclear weapons program if it gets a promise from the United States not to attack, the top UN envoy to the region said after talks with a senior North Korean diplomat.
Maurice Strong, the UN secretary general's lead envoy to North Korea, met with Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon for about 30 minutes at the United Nations yesterday, the same day that Pyongyang said it was using plutonium extracted from some 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods to make atomic bombs.
That announcement alarmed South Korea and other Asian countries and raised fears that North Korea had turned its back on the possibility of giving up its nuclear capabilities. But Strong said Choe told him the North still believed in a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
"He made it very clear that his government is committed to abandoning its nuclear weapons program, to subjecting itself to internationally agreed inspections and verification procedures, and that their primary concern is their security," Strong said. Strong said, however, that Choe reiterated North Korea's stance that the United States' "hostile" stance means the North would continue with its nuclear program.
The North Koreans believe that is "the only way that they can try to ensure their own security in the absence of a viable commitment by the United States that it does not intend to attack them," he said. Bureau Report
That announcement alarmed South Korea and other Asian countries and raised fears that North Korea had turned its back on the possibility of giving up its nuclear capabilities. But Strong said Choe told him the North still believed in a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
"He made it very clear that his government is committed to abandoning its nuclear weapons program, to subjecting itself to internationally agreed inspections and verification procedures, and that their primary concern is their security," Strong said. Strong said, however, that Choe reiterated North Korea's stance that the United States' "hostile" stance means the North would continue with its nuclear program.
The North Koreans believe that is "the only way that they can try to ensure their own security in the absence of a viable commitment by the United States that it does not intend to attack them," he said. Bureau Report