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US Secretary of State Colin Powell on the
possibility of a North Korean Missile Test, September 23, 2004
'N. Korean Missile Test Would Not Change U.S. Policy, Powell
Says', Washington File, September 23, 2004.
Six-Party Talks only way to stop nuclear
programs on Korean peninsula
By Judy Aita
Washington File U.N. Correspondent
New York -- There is no substitute for the Six-Party Talks to
eliminate nuclear programs on the Korean peninsula, Secretary of
State Colin Powell said September 23.
"The six-party process is still very much alive" despite North
Korea's refusal to attend a fourth round of talks that was
scheduled for September, Powell told reporters at a press
conference held while he is attending the opening of the 59th U.N.
General Assembly. Powell met privately earlier in the day with
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon.
The Six-Party Talks involve China, Japan, North Korea, Russia,
South Korea and the United States.
When asked about reports that North Korea may be prepared to
test-fire a missile capable of hitting its neighbors, the secretary
responded that "it would be very unfortunate if the North Koreans
were to do something like this and break out of the moratorium that
they have been following for a number of years," but such a test
would not change the U.S. approach.
"We would stay very firmly embedded in the six-party framework,
and we would not be intimidated with respect to our policies," the
secretary said.
A North Korean missile test "would be a very troubling matter for
China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea who are within range of such
missiles," Powell said, adding: "I think that the neighbors of
North Korea would register strong concerns to such an action."
The secretary said that it is hard to tell why Pyongyang is
delaying North Korea's return to the Six-Party Talks. "Maybe they
are waiting for the United States election to be over. Maybe they
are reflecting on the information that has come out of South Korea
with respect to some of South Korea's [nuclear] experimentation of
a very benign nature over the last several years," he said.
"It is hard to predict what the North Koreans are waiting for, but
it is absolutely clear the Six-Party Talks are the way forward,"
Powell said. "There is no other plan, there is no substitute for
the Six-Party Talks."
The six parties have expressed a desire for a peninsula free from
nuclear programs, the secretary said. "That remains our goal and we
hope that the North Koreans realize that the sooner they return to
the six-party format and begin discussions again at the fourth
round . . . the sooner we will be able to help North Korea deal
with its very serious economic problems."
Source: US Department of State, Washington File, http://usinfo.state.gov.
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© 2003 The Acronym Institute.
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