U.S. Will Not Propose Economic Incentives to North Korea

“Washington is concerned about the welfare of the North Korean people who are starving, but is not offering economic assistance as an incentive,” Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday (E.S.T.).

Powell denied the article written in the New York Times, which quoted a Bush administration official as saying, “(If the North gives up its nuclear ambition), the U.S. may offer economic incentives.”

Powell`s comment can be analyzed to mean that the United States would not put economic proposals forward, while continuing its humanitarian aids toward North Korea.

The Japanese government, however, has prepared for a `comprehensive solution`, for the 6-way talks commencing on August 27, that promises a non-aggression and an energy-supply pact to the North while asking the North to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons and missiles, the Asahi Simbun reported yesterday. Japan proposed the pact Wednesday at the 3-party meeting held in Washington with senior officials from South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. Japan also asked other nations to make its proposal as a common bid among the three nations. The three nations began their two days of talks Wednesday to refine their tactics ahead of six-way talks.

In the meantime, President Bush said Wednesday, if the nuclear crisis of the North could be resolved peacefully, he will continue dialogue with the North. “We will continue dialogue with North Korea and tell the North clearly that not only the United States but also North Korea`s neighbors demand the Korean peninsula to be a nuclear-weapon-free zone,” President Bush said to journalists at his ranch in Crawford, Texas

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