U.S. Official Says North Korea's Acknowledgment of Uranium Bomb Program Is Essential

AP ^ | Feb. 19, 2004

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U.S. Official Says North Korea's Acknowledgment of Uranium Bomb Program Is Essential

Feb. 19, 2004

By George Gedda / Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - No nuclear agreement with North Korea is possible until the Communist nation agrees to eliminate the uranium-based program it has refused to acknowledge, a senior State Department official said Thursday. Heading into six-nation talks next week, the United States is looking for a strategic commitment from North Korea to end its bomb-making capability with the same clarity and commitment shown by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Also Thursday, President Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun spoke about those talks during a 25-minute call. The talks start Wednesday in Beijing and include China, South Korea, Japan and Russia. Similar discussions in August ended inconclusively.

Roh's office said in a statement that the two leaders agreed the talks "should make concrete progress and provide a turning point for peacefully resolving the North Korean nuclear problem."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the presidents agreed to work toward making the discussions a success. "They share the view that they will approach the talks in a constructive and sincere manner," McClellan said.

The State Department official said the Bush administration is willing to show patience should a commitment not come next week from North Korea.

There is no evidence yet that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, is ready to follow the actions of Gadhafi, the official said. U.S. official say Gadhafi has been fulfilling a December commitment to disclose and dismantle all unconventional weapons.

The United States has claimed since 2002 that it has concrete evidence that North Korea, in addition to its publicly acknowledged plutonium-bomb program, is developing a uranium-based weapons capability.

North Korea has denied any such intention. Some experts believe the North's position has been undercut by recent disclosures that the founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, A.Q. Khan, had assisted the communist state's uranium program.

U.S. officials also maintain that a senior North Korean official acknowledged the existence of the uranium program during a meeting with American diplomats in Pyongyang, the North's capital, in October 2002.

North Korea has denied making any such statement and has suggested that a translation problem was to blame.

The United States is seeking the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" elimination of North Korea's programs.

North Korea initially placed high priority on receiving security assurances in exchange for disarmament. More recently, North Korea has shown interest in compensation and "tangible benefits," an apparent reference to aid programs, according to the U.S. official.