Powell says US-N.Korea engagement important
( 2001-05-15 09:40) (7)
The Bush administration sees engagement with North Korea as important and will proceed with it when the time is right, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday.
"Where we are not, is ready to engage yet, because we're conducting our policy review," Powell told CNN in an interview, referring to the authoritarian state that test-fired a missile in August 1998 and is consequently often cited in Washington as a reason for building a new, expensive missile defense system.
Powell said re-engagement would take place when and where it suited the United States after the review was over, adding, "But we understand the importance of engaging, in due course, at the appropriate time with North Korea."
He reaffirmed comments by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage on a visit to Asia last week, where he was trying to build support for the administration's plan for the missile interceptor system, which is opposed by Moscow and Beijing.
"And as Deputy Secretary of State Armitage said ... when our policy review is finished and we have a good understanding of what monitoring and verification regime would be necessary to make sure we know what the North Koreans might or may not be doing, then we'll re-engage," Powell said.
North Korea in 1999 agreed to suspend further missile tests while it was in talks on improving ties with Washington.
But those talks under President Bill Clinton were suspended after President George W. Bush took office in January and announced a comprehensive review of North Korean policy.
EU TO ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH N.KOREA
By contrast the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said on Monday it had decided to establish diplomatic relations with North Korea, following the lead of most EU member states by recognizing the state as it emerges from decades of self-imposed isolation.
"We do consider increased North Korean engagement with the international community to be positive," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said when asked to respond.
"We think the European Union has played a constructive role on the Korean Peninsula. We'll work together with them to promote common goals," he added.
In March, Powell said there were "promising elements" in a proposal Clinton ran out of time to make reality that would have mothballed North Korea's long-range missile program in exchange for improved ties.
But a day later Powell backed off that position, taking the unusual step of leaving a meeting between Bush and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung to tell reporters Bush had "forcefully made the point that we are undertaking a full review of our relationship with North Korea."
Powell also took a markedly hard line toward North Korea, saying the United States had no choice but to view Pyongyang as a threat because of its conventional forces and its weapons of mass destruction.
He told CNN on Monday, "The only thing that happened that day was that, as I have kidded others in saying, I got a little too far forward on my skis."
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