Putin to ask N. Korea to stop missile development

0 Comments | Asian Political News, July 17, 2000

MOSCOW, July 13 Kyodo

Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to ask North Korean leader Kim Jong Il next week to stop the country's missile development program, a government source said Thursday.

Putin, who will visit North Korea on Wednesday, is expected to tell Kim that the missile development program gives the United States an excuse to go ahead with its national missile defense (NMD) project, according to the source.

If North Korea makes a positive response, Putin will inform U.S. President Bill Clinton during the July 21-23 Group of Eight summit in Okinawa Prefecture, southwestern Japan, the source said.

Russia is opposed to the NMD plan.

Putin is also considering proposing a multilateral missile defense initiative for use by the two Koreas, Japan, the U.S. and China, the source said.

The initiative is intended to serve as an alternative to both North Korea's missile development program and the theater missile defense (TMD) project that the U.S. and Japan are currently jointly researching, according to the source.