North Korea: Sanctions = War

North Korea warned Tuesday that the United States and its allies risk war if the United Nations imposes sanctions to punish it for restarting nuclear programs.

The warning, carried by the North's state-run news agency, comes a day after inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency warned North Korea that it had just one more chance to cooperate with before the IAEA referred the case to the Security Council.

The Council could prescribe sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear programs, which Pyongyang insists are for civilian purposes but Washington fears could produce material for nuclear weapons.

The Korea Central News Agency warned that, "Sanctions mean a war, and the war knows no mercy."

The agency also reported that about 100,000 people turned out for a communist party rally in the capital Tuesday. The agency reports they were urged to give "top priority to military affairs."

Meanwhile, the United States is willing to talk to North Korea but will not make concessions to freeze Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, the State Department announced Tuesday.

Winding up two days of talks with South Korea and Japan, a statement approved by all three governments endorsed dialogue with North Korea as a useful vehicle for resolving serious issues.

The three nations also reiterated their intention to pursue a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the crisis that began last fall and accelerated in recent weeks as North Korea took steps to unfreeze its nuclear weapons programs.

"There is no security rationale for North Korea to possess nuclear weapons," the statement said.

The dispute with North Korea began in October when U.S. diplomats confronted North Korea with evidence that it had launched a uranium-enrichment program.

That led the U.S. and its allies to halt fuel shipments to North Korea, which had been made under a 1994 agreement.

North Korea then claimed the 1994 deal, in which it had padlocked its nuclear plants in exchange for foreign aid, was null and void. It announced plans to reprocess spent fuel rods, removed monitoring devices from its plutonium-based plants and kicked out international inspectors.

The Untied States has rebuffed North Korea's demands for a non-aggression pact, saying it would not be blackmailed into negotiating.

The North has repeatedly issued dire predictions that the dispute would lead to conflict. Many observers feel the standoff is the most dangerous situation in this part of Asia since 1994, when the U.S.-North Korean deal averted a possible U.S. air strike on a North Korean nuclear plant.

However, the United States and South Korea are eager to avoid use of the word "crisis," which could escalate alarm as they seek a diplomatic solution. Moreover, President Bush is preparing for a possible war against Iraq.

But the possibility of a conflict as devastating as the 1950-53 Korean War cannot be ruled out, simply because of the sheer numbers of troops and weaponry on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.

The U.S. military fears North Korea could miscalculate, and even a small confrontation along the border could quickly escalate.

Some South Korean analysts believe the dispute will turn into a crisis if North Korea takes further steps, such as withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It pulled out of the treaty in 1993, but later suspended its decision.

Earlier during the two day talks, Mr. Bush said the United States was open to dialogue with Pyongyang, but he also told reporters at the White House on Monday that North Korea must permit international monitoring of its nuclear facilities.

"We have no intention of invading North Korea," Mr. Bush said.

South Korea has proposed a compromise in which the United States would guarantee North Korea's security in exchange for a renewed freeze on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The administration has steered clear of publicly embracing the South Korean overture, though State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "We will be listening carefully."

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said, "We view this as an issue that we need to work together on, and work shoulder to shoulder on."

Before the talks opened Monday, the United Nations nuclear agency approved a U.S.-supported statement that deplored North Korea's decision to block international inspection of its nuclear programs.

The resolution, approved in Vienna by 35 countries ranging from China to Cuba, did not set a deadline for the North to readmit inspectors and put cameras and other equipment back in place.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said he hoped for a reply "in the next few days," while Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf said he expected North Korea's defiance would be reported to the Security Council.