U.S. Sees N.K.`s Proposal as Unacceptable

The U.S. government said on April 28 (local time), that North Korea offered a proposal in the three-way talks with China and the U.S. in Beijing, China last week in which it would "deal with" its nuclear program but that it expected U.S. economic aid and security guarantees.

Though the U.S. administration regards the North’s plan as unacceptable, it still maintains the position of continuing dialogue, the U.S. media reported on April 29.

"North Korea said that it had nuclear arms and that it could dismantle its nuclear program and stop exporting missiles. We clearly stated however, that we would not reward it with cash," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a press briefing on April 28.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell also said that "North Korea had put forward a plan" under which "it would `deal with` its nuclear program but that it `expects something considerable in return.`"

Regarding the North Korean nuclear program, the New York Times on April 29 quoted a U.S. administration official as saying that Pyongyang asked for a variety of things, including food aid and security guarantees, but that the country proposed it would dismantle its nuclear weapons program only at the end of the process.

The official also said that both hard-liners and moderates in the Bush administration saw Pyongyang’s offer as "absurdly unacceptable."

"The trilateral talks were useful towards the settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue and may pave the way towards a peaceful resolution. We are now trying to set a date for the second round of Beijing talks," a spokesman from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Meanwhile, Japan is sending Shin Ebihara, director of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s North American Affairs Bureau, to Washington on April 30. North Korea’s neighbor also plans to urge the international community, including the U.S., to pressure the communist North into abandoning its nuclear ambitions, the Kyodo news agency in Japan reported on April 28.

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