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Disarmament DocumentationBack to Disarmament Documentation '[T]he proposal we put down over the summer in the third round of Six-Party Talks is our proposal', US Secretary of State Colin Powell on North Korea, October 26, 2004Powell Wants to "Keep Momentum Up" on North Korean Nuclear Issue, October 26, 2004. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERVIEW Secretary of State Colin L. Powell October 26, 2004 MS. KUPPERMAN: Beginning with North Korea, Mr. Secretary, based on your discussions in Japan, South Korea, and especially China, are you at all optimistic that North Korea will return soon to the Six-Party Talks and be ready to move ahead? SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I'm optimistic in the sense that in the three countries that I visited there is a solid view that the Six-Party framework is the way to go forward. And we hope that the North Koreans in the near future will realize that they have to come back into this framework. if they have any concerns, questions to raise, this is the place to resolve those questions. And we made it clear from our standpoint that the Six-Party framework is the means of finding a solution to this problem. and we hope the Koreans, the North Koreans, will come to that understanding as well soon and we can get this going again. It's important for us to move quickly, in the very near future, in order to keep momentum up and in order to solve a problem - a problem that is a concern to the international community, North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, and it's also a way to help the North Koreans. They are in need of assistance, and that assistance will come. Some members of the Six-Party framework have already agreed to provide immediate assistance, and there are benefits waiting for North Korea if it takes the right strategic choice. MS. KUPPERMAN: Well that actually brings me to the next question, which is, After you met with Chinese leaders, Foreign Minister Lee told a Chinese news agency "that the U.S. needs to go further to adopt a flexible and practical attitude on the issue." He said this despite the proposal that the U.S. presented at the last round. Is the U.S. prepared to be even more flexible? SECRETARY POWELL: The U.S. has put forward a flexible proposal, we did it at the third session of the Six-Party framework. We haven't had a response from North Korea. We're always prepared to be flexible, but we're not going to put down a new proposal every couple of weeks because the North Koreans say "well, we're not sure we like the previous proposal." That's not a way to negotiate. So the proposal we put down over the summer in the third round of Six-Party Talks is our proposal. It was a change from our earlier position, it showed a great deal of flexibility, it was welcomed by all of the other parties, and we're waiting to have the North Koreans to respond to it. MS. KUPPERMAN: It sounds like China wants the United States to go even further, though. SECRETARY POWELL: Well, as I said, we put forward a forward-leaning, flexible proposal. We go into these negotiations with flexibility, we hear what the others have to say. But we're not going to get into a position where every few weeks we have to put something else on the table in order to satisfy the North Koreans. The North Koreans need to come back to the table so we can all sit around and discuss the proposal they put forward, the proposal we put forward, and the proposal the South Koreans put forward. The way to do this is at the discussion, not via press conferences or statements. MS. KUPPERMAN: One other Korea question. Based on the hole in the fence that was found, has U.S. security posture been heightened? I know that there are reports that South Korean security posture has heightened. SECRETARY POWELL: I'm not aware of it. You'll have to direct that to the military forces here. I've been in meetings. but my understanding is that there was discovered a minor breach of some kind in the fence. I don't know how serious it is or how unusual it is, so I will let the military worry about this. I don't sense that an invasion is underway. Source: US Department of State, http://usinfo.state.gov. © 2003 The Acronym Institute. |