Bush vows to be diplomatic in dealing with North Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States and South Korea, stung by North Korea's admission that it has a secret nuclear weapons program, are calling on Pyongyang to reverse course and abide by promises to renounce development of these armaments.\nPresident Bush characterized the announcement as "troubling, sobering news," a spokesman said Thursday.\nThe startling disclosure, revealed Wednesday night by the White House, changed the political landscape in East Asia, setting back hopes that North Korea was on the road to becoming a more benign presence in the region.\nTalking to reporters who accompanied Bush on a trip to the South Thursday, spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday that the president planned to bring up the issue in talks here next week with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.\nBut McClellan drew a clear distinction between Pyongyang and Iraq. "Clearly, North Korea is oppressive, has starved people, but these are different regions, different circumstances," he said.\nMcClellan said that Bush decided to address the issue through diplomatic channels. "We seek a peaceful solution," he said.\nPrivately, White House officials said Bush and his senior advisers decided to confront the problem in a low-key fashion. Bush, for example, planned no public statements on it Thursday. Said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.: "Two things have to be done immediately. First, they have to open up their country to allow inspections to examine the facilities. And second, they have to agree to destroy whatever weapons of mass destruction they have. That has to be a commitment."\nSenate Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi said, "Obviously, North Korea is a matter of concern. But clearly, the one we have to deal with immediately is Iraq."\nThe disclosure adds to the administration's list of foreign policy headaches, coming on top of a possible U.S. attack on Iraq and the overall U.S. war on terrorism.\nA senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said North Korea acknowledged having "more powerful" weapons. U.S. officials have interpreted that statement as an acknowledgment that North Korea has other weapons of mass destruction. However, the same officials say they are unsure whether North Korea actually does possess biological or chemical weapons.\nOn Aug. 29 U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said: "In regard to chemical weapons, there is little doubt that North Korea has an active program."\nAny administration inclination to try to confront North Korea, which Bush has labeled as part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran, could be tempered by a desire not to become overextended internationally.\nPresidential spokesman Sean McCormack said North Korea was guilty of a serious infringement of a 1994 agreement with the United States under which Pyongyang promised to be nuclear-free in return for economic assistance.\n"The United States and our allies call on North Korea to comply with its commitments under the nonproliferation treaty and to eliminate its nuclear weapons program in a verifiable manner," McCormack said.\nU.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said North Korea told U.S. diplomats that it was no longer bound by the anti-nuclear agreement.\nIn Seoul, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik, said South Korea has consistently pursued the de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula in line with international agreements. Japan and South Korea are treaty allies of the United States.\nState Department spokesman Richard Boucher said late Wednesday the United States had been ready to offer North Korea economic and other benefits if Pyongyang agreed to curb missile programs, end threats and change its behavior in other ways.\n"In light of our concerns about the North's nuclear weapons program, however, we are unable to pursue this approach," Boucher said.\nFor a time, North Korea had seemed ready to shed Bush's "axis of evil" designation. Pyongyang was carrying out capitalist reforms and reaching out to both Japan and South Korea. It also resumed talks with the United States earlier this month.\nAs McCormack made the announcement, Undersecretary of State John Bolton was flying to East Asia to consult with allies on the changed situation.\nUnder the 1994 agreement, in return for renouncing nuclear weapons, Pyongyang was to receive two light water nuclear reactors to replace the country's plutonium-producing reactors.\nGroundbreaking for the new reactors, which were supposed to have been completed by 2003, just took place in August, with a State Department official on hand.\nThe two countries had just resumed high-level security talks less than two weeks ago for the first time since October 2000. It was during those discussions that North Korea informed the United States of its nuclear activities.\nThe United States has been suspicious about North Korea's nuclear intentions for some time despite the 1994 agreement.\nThat has been a U.S. concern dating from before the 1994 agreement. International inspections were supposed to clear up that mystery but the North never permitted them despite a commitment to do so.\nThe North Korean revelations apparently refer to more recent nuclear development activities, possibly encompassing the period when former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang in October 2000. President Clinton thought seriously about making a visit as well before leaving office.\nAssistant Secretary of State James Kelly visited North Korea on Oct. 3-5 and demanded that the communist state address global concerns about its nuclear and other weapons programs, prompting the disclosure. After Kelly's departure the Koreans called the U.S. diplomat "high-handed and arrogant"