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China Rejects Powell's
Proposals on North Korea
By George Gedda Associated Press Writer
Published: Feb 24, 2003
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Chinese officials rebuffed a U.S. proposal Monday for a regional
coalition to pressure North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program and told Secretary of
State Colin Powell that direct talks between the United States and North Korea hold the
best hope for resolving the dispute.
After his talks in Beijing, Powell flew to South Korea for Tuesday's inauguration of
President-elect Roh Moo-hyun, also an advocate of U.S. negotiations with North Korea. Roh,
who favors reconciliation with Pyongyang, also says he would not support any U.S. plan to
attack North Korea.
On Tuesday, Powell is expected to announce a major donation of U.S. food to the North
Korean people, many of whom are believed to suffer severe famine-induced malnutrition.
North Korea and Iraq dominated separate meetings Powell held with Chinese Foreign Minister
Tang Jiaxuan, Vice President Hu Jintao and President Jiang Zemin.
The discussions on Iraq were inconclusive. China favors continued U.N. inspections in Iraq
as opposed to a second U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorize military
action should Iraq refuse to disarm. The United States and Britain are to propose the
resolution on Tuesday.
Left unclear from Powell's talks in Beijing was whether China would veto a second
resolution if it should come to a council vote.
On North Korea, Powell has pushed for a multilateral effort to dismantle Pyongyang's
nuclear weapons program for weeks, with scant results.
At a news conference Monday, the American said the North Korean weapons issue "is a
matter for China, it's a matter for South Korea, it's a matter for Japan, it's a matter
for Russia, and it's a matter for the United Nations."
He added that the United States feels strongly that "North Korea's actions pose a
threat to regional stability and to the global nonproliferation regime."
Chinese state television quoted Tang, the foreign minister, as saying that China hopes for
talks on the nuclear issue between the United States and North Korea "on an equal
basis."
The Chinese state news agency Xinhua, meanwhile, reported that Vice President Hu made the
same point and said U.S. talks with North Korea should begin soon.
North Korea itself has long advocated direct discussions with Washington that would lead
to a nonaggression treaty.
Powell has said direct talks in 1994 resulted in a promise by Pyongyang to forgo nuclear
weapons, which he said the communist government has since violated. Only much broader
international participation has a chance of producing a satisfactory outcome, he has said.
U.S. government analysts fear that North Korea, left unchecked, could have six
plutonium-based nuclear weapons in a few months, possibly leading to a destabilizing
regional arms race. Among countries in the area, only Japan has sided with the United
States in its call for international negotiations.
China says it favors a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, but U.S. officials complain that
Beijing has done little to achieve that objective.
The one bright spot for the United States on the North Korean problem was the Feb. 13
decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer North Korea's nuclear
ambitions to the United Nations.
The action fit nicely with the U.S. view that Pyongyang's actions are a global concern.
Administration officials said last week, however, that it is doubtful the Security Council
will take a strong stand because of opposition from Russia.
In Beijing, Powell said China is eager to play a positive role in helping to quiet
misgivings about Pyongyang's weapons programs. China is undertaking initiatives with North
Korea, Powell said, that he was unable to discuss publicly.
Powell has said that China is uniquely positioned to influence North Korea because it is
by far Pyongyang's largest aid donor.
---
On the Net: State Department's nonproliferation desk: http://www.state.gov/t/np/
AP-ES-02-24-03 1458EST
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