Seoul still studying NMD: US State Dept.

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that the Seoul government is studying the National Missile Defense (NMD) system but has not raised objections to the plan.

In a regular press briefing, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher stated that the joint statement issued at the end of a summit between President Kim Dae-Jung and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin made no specific mention of the NMD issue. His statement came in response to a journalist`s question about the Kim-Putin joint statement, in which the two leaders agreed to abide by the terms of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

The spokesman went on to say that the Korean government disclosed in a statement that it was studying the NMD question. He added that Seoul offered a clarification of the content of the Korea-Russia joint communique with regard to the ABM pact and the background for making mention of it in the joint press release.

Noting that Seoul, as a long-time ally of the U.S., closely cooperates with Washington in the search for solutions to various regional and global problems, and that the two countries consult on a wide range of bilateral security matters, Boucher said that if President Kim comes to Washington next week, U.S. President George W. Bush would hold discussions with him on a vast array of issues, including the NMD program.