“No Expel for Kim Jong-il When North Korea Gives up Nuclear”

An official of the U.S Administration conveyed that on June 1, President George W. Bush has rejected the North Korea`s request of a conference between just North Korea and the U.S., which was communicated by Hu Jintao, the General Secretary and the Party Chief of the Communist Party of China.

This official reported that Chief Hu delivered the North Korea`s request to hold a bilateral conference between the U.S. and the North in the separate summit between the U.S and China held at Evian, France in the midst of the leader`s conference of G8 (7 Western Developed Countries plus Russia) but President Bush replied, “North Korea may state something face to face with us but this must be achieved through a multilateral conference environment.”

On the other hand, after having the leaders` conference on the day, Chief Hu and President of France, Jacques Chirac, shared their view that the North Korea`s nuclear program can be a direct threat to the peace and the stability of the world, insisting on the peaceful resolution of the North Korea`s nuclear crisis.

However, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz emphasized, “If North Korea wants to survive, they need to learn the reformation China executed 25 years ago,” at the annual Asian Security Council held at Singapore on May 31. In relation to this, Los Angeles Times of the U.S. analyzed that “it seems like the Bush Administration conveyed a message through Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz`s speech that they will not expel Kim Jong-il, the North Korean Leader, if North Korea gives up its ambitions on nuclear.”

“Under Deng Xiaoping regime, China demonstrated how a failed communistic system could execute the reformation processes without collapsing 25 years ago. This can be a model for North Korea,” stated Deputy Secretary Wolfowitx during his speech.

sechepa@donga.com