Korea Sanctions Push Postponed

A South Korean presidential envoy met Monday with a key aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as the communist country criticized the U.N. nuclear agency, saying it was in no position to address the impasse over the North's nuclear program.

Lim Dong-won, a national security adviser to President Kim Dae-jung, flew to the North's capital, Pyongyang, earlier Monday. He was accompanied by an envoy of President-elect Roh Moo-hyun, who takes office on Feb. 25.

Lim met with Kim Yong Sun, a close confidant of the North Korean leader. He frequently accompanies Kim Jong Il on inspection tours of military and industrial installations.

The Lim-Kim meeting "discussed matters of mutual concern related to the situation on the Korean Peninsula in a sincere atmosphere," the South Korean delegation said in a report to the government in Seoul. Part of the report was released by the government.

North Korea, through its state-run KCNA news agency, said "the grave situation" on the Korean Peninsula and other matters were discussed. It said the talks were held "in an atmosphere overflowing with compatriotic feelings and mutual understanding."

South Korean media speculated that one or both of the envoys could meet with Kim Jong Il on Tuesday. Lim was carrying a personal letter from President Kim Dae-jung to the North Korean leader.

Lim said he was not carrying any specific "solution" to the dispute, and that it would probably take "a considerably long time" to resolve.

The North's acceptance of the envoys could signal an easing of its earlier refusal to allow third parties to help end the crisis, which it insists is a matter between it and Washington.

Earlier, the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency indefinitely postponed a meeting of its 35-nation board of directors to discuss whether to refer the Korean nuclear crisis to the U.N. Security Council after South Korea said the meeting could upset its efforts at dialogue with the North.

Washington is pushing for the matter to go to the Security Council, which could vote for sanctions against the North. Pyongyang, however, has said it would consider sanctions a declaration of war.

The current dispute began in October when U.S. officials said North Korea had admitted having a nuclear program based on uranium enrichment in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States. Washington suspended oil shipments to North Korea, which then moved to restart a padlocked plutonium plant, ousted the U.N. inspectors and pulled out of a global nuclear arms control treaty.

North Korea claims the crisis was triggered by aggressive moves by the Bush administration. Upon taking office, President Bush suspended U.S. support for the South's "sunshine policy" of talking to the North. Then the president categorized the North in an "axis of evil" and articulated a new military strategy advocating preemptive strikes against perceived threats.

In addition, some say the United States never adhered to the 1994 deal, delaying the construction of nuclear reactors and failing to officially recognize the North.

In a speech to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Secretary of State Colin Powell seemed to address the North's frustration.

"The United States stands ready to build a different kind of relationship with North Korea once Pyongyang comes into verifiable compliance with its commitments," he said.

Powell suggested talks involving the five U.N. Security Council members — the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain — plus the two Koreas, Japan, the European Union and Australia, according to a South Korean Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

North Korea has voiced opposition to the idea, calling it a U.S. ploy to "internationalize" the nuclear issue.