North Has to Chose War or Financial Assistance

As the international community is increasingly paying a keen attention to the U.S. response to North Korea’s nuclear issue when the war on Iraq ends, deputy secretary of the U.S. defense ministry Paul Wolfowitz April.6 said that a resolution of the North’s nuclear depended heavily on the choice of Pyongyang.

The deputy secretary of the U.S. defense ministry appeared in a talk show on NBC, an American broadcasting network, on April.6. “If Saddam Hussein had complied with the international terms for disarming Weapons of Mass Destruction, there couldn’t have been war and Iraq could have received international financial assistance for its national restoration,” he said. “Now, North Korea is facing a similar situation where it has to make a choice,” he emphasized.

“Unfortunately, it seems that the North has already possessed nuclear weapons. If countries supporting terrorism acquire such weapons, it will certainly pose a threat to security of the U.S. and the world as whole,” he warned.

He hinted that North Korea can expect a massive international support for restoring the country by saying, “North Korea can aggravate further its self-invited economic difficulties or it can become a reliable member of the international community by abandoning its nuclear ambition and complying with its international commitment.”

“The leadership of North Korea should opt for such a choice at this moment. However, it doesn’t seem that its leadership is heeding our advice,” he pointed out.

However, he said, “It is important to address the issue of acquisition of WMDs by countries supporting terrorists, but such a issue should be solved case by case. North Korea is different from Iraq.”

Meanwhile, the LA Times reported that the U.S. government is now considering whether to opt for a diplomatic solution or use of military force to address issues of North Korea and Iran, even at this moment when it is carrying out a war on Iraq.

The American daily said that some high-ranking officials at the U.S. government predicted that a peaceful solution stressed by American “moderates”, including Secretary of State Collin Powel would finally prevail.

maypole@donga.com