The United States Seeks New Deal with North Korea

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said that even if North Korea gives up its nuclear ambitions, the U.S. would need a new arrangement to better constrain Pyongyang`s ability to produce weapons than the one negotiated by Clinton in 1994, reported The Wall Street Journal yesterday.

“The 1994 arms control accord made in Geneva just stopped production of nuclear materials, leaving North`s ability intact. Now, we need a new agreement and don`t have to go back to the frame provided by the accord,” the newspaper reported Mr. Powell as saying.

He also said, “We have not decided whether to resume the construction of the two light-water reactors promised in the accord, even if North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons program. The most effective way to provide energy to North is an economic assistance through an energy other than the nuclear power.”

In the meanwhile, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in a briefing on Monday that it is premature to discuss economic assistance to North Korea when the regime has not given up its nuclear ambitions, disputing Deputy Secretary Kelly`s remarks made during his visit to Seoul that the United States could provide fuel oil to North Korea.

The Washington Post analyzed that Kelly`s remarks indicated the turn of the United States position for the first time, although it was not sure why he made such remarks even tough some conditions were attached to the remarks. So far, the Untied States has insisted that North should give up its nuclear program first.

In Moscow, North Korean Ambassador Park Ui-chun suggested that North Korea could, under certain circumstances, reverse its decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and that Pyongyang might allow the United States to verify it doesn`t have a nuclear weapons program, Associated Press reports.

"The question of the possibility of our country`s once again joining the treaty should be solved with consideration to the situation that developed after our country`s withdrawal from the treaty," Park said, according to the state-run channel Rossiya`s translation of his comments at a news conference for Russian journalists.