Rice: North Korean Peace Treaty Is Key

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday that discussing a peace agreement with North Korea will become very important for the U.S. someday.

Rice commented on the peace agreement discussion when the anchor of NBC’s Meet the Press mentioned a recent New York Times report that the U.S. administration is reviewing new measures to pursue a negotiation with the North to sign a peace agreement along with the six-party talks to resolve the nuclear issue.

When asked, “The U.S. has said it would not negotiate with North Korea as long as it has nuclear bombs. Is the administration willing to negotiate a peace agreement with the North?” Rice answered, “Someday, discussing that situation (a peace agreement) will become very important. Currently, the parties of the Korean War remain at war.”

However, Rice added, “That [agreement] is a very different situation, and the North has not made the strategic choice of dismantling its nuclear programs nor returned to the negotiating table.”

Soon-Taek Kwon maypole@donga.com