The Hindu : Koizumi to discuss crisis with Putin

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 09, 2003

International

International

Koizumi to discuss crisis with Putin

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE Jan. 8. South Korea and Japan today intensified their diplomatic pressure on North Korea after joining hands with the United States to urge Pyongyang to ``eliminate its nuclear weapons programme''. Noting that no time-table had been set at this stage for any such action by Pyongyang, South Korea indicated that the issue, however, had to be sorted out, in view of the worsening situation on this front.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, sought to widen the circle of pressure by indicating in Tokyo today that he would discuss the North Korean issues, including the nuclear question, with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Koizumi was reported to have told the Japanese journalists in Tokyo, on the eve of his departure for Moscow, that he would focus attention on the North Korean issue in addition to his country's ties with Russia. This aspect of Mr. Koizumi's agenda is in sync with a statement that Japan issued on Tuesday to underline that it "intends to strive for the peaceful resolution of the (North Korean nuclear) issue by ``consulting closely'' with Washington and Seoul and also by seeking ``cooperation with other interested countries such as China and Russia and with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)''. Japan underscored its `hope' that the North would "quickly take concrete action to abolish in a verifiable manner'' all of Pyongyang's plans for nuclear weapons development.

The general expectation within the Asia Pacific diplomatic circles was that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or the North) might come up with a considered response to the latest U.S. offer. The U.S. has indicated its willingness to engage Pyongyang in talks "about how it will meet its obligations to the international community'' by renouncing the North Korean nuclear weapons programme itself.

However, the DPRK today renewed its demand that the U.S. sign a bilateral non-aggression pact as the best means to ensure a complete de-nuclearisation of the Korean pensinsula. This demand acquired importance in the context of America stating categorically that it "will not provide quid pro quo to North Korea to live up to its existing obligations'' of not moving forward along the nuclear arms avenue.

In a strongly worded statement, the North Korean official news agency today outlined the Kim Jong-il regime's updated position in highly polemical terms. The U.S., it was said, "is well advised not to forget the lesson drawn from the history of the DPRK-U.S. relations and the present reality''. Asking the U.S. to give up its "anachronistic hostile policy" towards the DPRK, it called upon the U.S. to "immediately withdraw its aggression troops from South Korea''.

China, arguably the most influential player in North-East Asia as regards the DPRK's nuclear weapons issue, did not rush to respond to the latest consensus among the U.S. as also South Korea and Japan in this connection. Japan, on the other hand, reaffirmed its status as a proactive member of the IAEA's Board of Governors, besides arguing that North Korea should abide by the latest resolution adopted by this organisation in Vienna.

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