Roh: North Korean Nuclear Issue Stable

While visiting Vietnam, President Roh Moo-hyun suggested yesterday a possible solution for North Korean nuclear issues through talks, saying, “Although there have been no changes, we are not in the most dangerous situation in the world, nor is the issue something hard to solve.”

President Roh explained at a press breakfast meeting held at the Daewoo Hotel in Hanoi on the same day that “one tends to resort to extreme behavior when forced into a corner.” “All neighboring countries, including South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan are against making such an environment that forces North Korea to choose extreme behavior. There have been exchanges of very sensitive words between the U.S. and North Korea. Nonetheless, the situation has become significantly stabilized,” he added.

President Roh predicted, “There are possibilities and hopes that North Korea will gradually reform and establish an open policy. North Korea will participate in talks only when we try to give them hopes and expectations.”

He arrived in Ho Chi Minh City by special plane that afternoon and had a meeting with 300 Korean residents. Approximately 11,000 Koreans live in Ho Chi Minh City.

President Roh will return home today after completing his visits to India and Vietnam, which have been ongoing for eight days and nine nights.

It is known that Cheong Wa Dae had asked the three opposition parties—the Grand National Party, the Democratic Labor Party, and the Millennium Democratic Party—to accompany the president on his tour, but all three parties rejected that offer with the excuse that it fell during the inspection of government offices.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com