U.S. Secretary of State Rules Out Reward for North Korea

Yonhap News (South Korea) ^ | July 7, 2004

[HAL9000]

WASHINGTON, July 6 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday there should be no reward to North Korea for dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

Powell made the remark at a meeting with Shin Ki-nam, head of South Korea's ruling Uri Party, reiterating Washington's long-standing position that it won't reward Pyongyang's bad behavior.

The nuclear standoff began in the fall of 2002 after U.S. officials said the North admitted to having a covert nuclear arms program in violation of a 1994 accord.

The United States has been urging Pyongyang to end its nuclear program completely, while maintaining that no reward is possible for abandoning what the communist state should not have started in the first place.

Powell, however, was quoted as saying that his country is willing to provide humanitarian assistance to the North and has no hostile intention toward it.

North Korea has been demanding reward from the United States in exchange for freezing its nuclear weapons program.

Earlier Tuesday, the communist state renewed the demand, saying its "reward-for-freeze proposal" is the only way to build trust between the two sides and resolve their 21-month standoff.

"In a situation where even a minimum level of trust does not exit between the DPRK and the United States, it should take priority to remove mistrust between the two sides for a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue," a spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying by the North's Central Television Broadcasting Station. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the nation's official name.

Pyongyang's reward-for-freeze offer calls for a series of economic and political concessions from the United States in exchange for the North freezing its nuclear program.

The North presented a detailed version of the proposal at last month's six-party talks, specifically demanding the equivalent of 2 million kilowatts of power a year from the United States and other participants.

The United States also put forward its own proposal at the talks, offering to address the North's energy and security needs if it freezes all of its nuclear programs and eventually dismantles them.

The North has not given a clear-cut response to Washington's proposal yet, although it described the offer as "unrealistic" through its media outlets.

The nuclear talks, the third since last year, ended without a clear breakthrough, but the participants, which also include South Korea, China, Japan and Russia, agreed to meet again before the end of September.

The nuclear dispute flared in October 2002, after U.S. officials said the North admitted to having a secret nuclear arms program in violation of international agreements.

Meanwhile, Shin has been on a six-day trip to the United States since Monday. He already met Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and is scheduled to meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick and other administration and congressional officials.

[geopyg]

"The North ... specifically demanding the equivalent of 2 million kilowatts of power a year from the United States and other participants."

So - how many cruise missles are equivalent to 2 million kilowatts of power?.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Dear Leader is calling us "Unrealistic?" (Pause) BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

[vwsweeden]

We should simply ignore the North Korean nuke program. Inform them, and the rest of the world, that, should any state use nukes to attack the US, we will annihilate that nation state without hesitation or reservation.
The Koreans are determined not to go quietly like Saddam. They will do covertly what they think is best for them while publicly offering to back off in exchange for aid. We must not underestimate their determination to resist US pressure or their willingness to sacrifice everything for ideology.

[secretagent]

Powell, however, was quoted as saying that his country is willing to provide humanitarian assistance to the North and has no hostile intention toward it.

Extortion payments. End them.