U.S. Congress Pursues Non-aggression Resolution with the North.

Regarding North Korea’s demand for the guarantee of non-aggression, some influential congressmen are studying ways to reach a legally binding non-aggression resolution that both Houses would agree upon, Asahi Shimbun reported yesterday quoting sources from Congress.

The proposal that the United States Secretary of State Colin Powel suggested in documenting assurance of non-aggression against North Korea and then passing it in the Congress during a press conference on August 7, were brought up after discussions with senior officials from both the Republican and Democratic Parties, including Richard Lugar (Republican) and Joseph R. Biden (Democrat), incumbent and former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, respectively, the sources said. The proposal, however, has not yet been proposed to the Congress due to strong opposition from hard-liners in the White House and Bush Administration.

Although a joint resolution of the two Houses faces many obstacles before it becomes law since the President can exercise veto power, and it needs to win over two thirds of the vote in both Houses, North Korea is expected to accept it as it is legally binding.

parkwj@donga.com