World

U.S. , N. Korea To Rap About Missiles

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

September 19, 2000 / 9:33 AM EDT / CBS

U.S. and North Korean negotiators will resume talks next week in New York City in an attempt to end a stalemate over Pyongyang's development and export of missiles.

The talks also will focus on U.S. allegations that North Korea sponsors terrorism and on terms of an accord that froze North Korea's nuclear weapons program in exchange for two civilian reactors and supplies of energy.

The last round of missile talks ended in July with North Korea insisting its program was a sovereign exercise in self-defense, but also with indications from economically distressed Pyongyang that it might curb the program in exchange for payments of about $1 billion a year.

From Pyongyang's standpoint, the meetings that begin Sept. 27 offer an opportunity to air complaints that energy supplies promised under the nuclear freeze agreement have been inadequate.

The third issue, terrorism, needs to be resolved before North Korea can hope to win U.S. acceptance. The Stalinist North is listed by the State Department as a supporter of terrorism, and thereby under U.S. law is barred from receiving other than humanitarian assistance such as food.

A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Monday, said the talks could go on a few days or longer, depending on the progress made.

U.S. relations with North Korea have been on the upswing since South Korean President Kim Dae-jung two years ago undertook a process of reconciliation with Pyongyang, North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il gradually warmed to the overture and they met at a summit in June.

But a search at the Frankfurt, Germany, airport of the North Korean delegation to the United Nations' Millennium Summit earlier this month touched off a ripple of ill will.

The delegation canceled its trip to New York, and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright subsequently said she regretted the incident and that the search by German security personnel was not authorized by U.S. policy.

Meanwhile, North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun decided not to attend the U.N. General Assembly meetings last week. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said "unavoidable reasons" were behind the cancellation and it was not aimed at slowing momentum toward improved relations.

The visit had been foreseen as a possible opportunity for Albright to meet with the foreign minister, which would have shifted the improving relationship into higher gear.

Traveling in Thailand, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen cautioned that despite the easing of tensions on the Korean peninsula, the United States would stay vigilant as long as North Korea keeps a huge army on its border with South Korea.

"We are encouraged by the steps that we see being taken. But we must remain vigilant because of the size of the army that the North Koreans still maintain," Cohen said.

Cohen was heading to South Korea later Tuesday for a three-day visit.

"It is clear that there has been a reduction in the tensios that previously existed," Cohen acknowledged. But, he added, these are only the "first stages ... toward a reconciliation."

"We have to be very cautious," he said.

North Korea is believed capable of targeting virtually all of Japan as well as other Asian countries with its missiles. And a potential long-range threat was cited by the Clinton administration as one reason for considering a U.S. missile defense program a decision President Bill Clinton has deferred to his successor.

At the same time, North Korea's export of missile technology to Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and other countries has alarmed U.S. officials as a devastating challenge to American attempts to curb proliferation.