CORRECTED: N.Z.'s Clark slams N. Korea's 'nuclear brinkmanship'

0 Comments | Asian Political News, July 28, 2003

SEOUL, July 25 Kyodo

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Friday that North Korea must rein in its nuclear ambitions and understand that ''nuclear brinkmanship'' has no place in the modern world.

''North Korea's actions of late are of grave concern to all of South Korea's friends,'' Clark told South Korean business leaders in a speech ahead of talks with President Roh Moo Hyun.

The North, she said, ''needs to understand that its nuclear brinkmanship has no place in the modern world.''

''Nuclear proliferation is a threat which affects us all. We in New Zealand want a peaceful and lasting solution to the problems posed by North Korea. We will do all we can to achieve that,'' she said.

Clark and Roh agreed in their talks to work together to resolve the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program by peaceful means, Roh's press office said.

In the talks held at the Blue House presidential office, Roh explained to Clark the contents of telephone conversations he held with U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday, in which the two leaders expressed confidence that the standoff could be resolved through multilateral talks.

Speaking later at a luncheon hosted by Roh, Clark said she told the president that New Zealand ''is committed to support the efforts of your government and those working closely with you to reduce tension on the peninsula.

''We have said repeatedly to the government of North Korea that any moves to develop nuclear weapons must stop now. The DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or North Korea) must live up to its international obligations,'' she said.

She applauded coordinated efforts by South Korea, Japan and the United States ''to remove the threat of nuclear escalation from the region.''

While China's initiative last April to convene a meeting in Beijing between North Korea and the U.S. was welcome, ''my government firmly believes that the Republic of Korea (South Korea) must have a place at any further such talks,'' she said.

The nuclear standoff flared last October when the U.S. said North Korea had admitted to running a uranium-enrichment program to produce nuclear weapons in violation of a 1994 antinuclear pact with the U.S.

North Korea and the U.S. discussed the nuclear issue at a China-brokered meeting in Beijing in April. Since then, Washington has been seeking to expand the three-way talks to include Japan and South Korea.

Clark and Roh also discussed other matters of mutual interest, including youth exchange programs, promoting cultural ties and ways to boost trade, including through a possible free trade agreement.

''New Zealand has registered its interest in the past in a free-trade agreement with (South) Korea. Two years ago we released a study showing that it would have benefits for us both. We remain ready to talk when Korea is,'' she told the South Korean business executives.

Clark arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a five-day visit mainly to attend a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary Sunday of the signing of the armistice agreement that ended 1950-1953 Korean War.

New Zealand is one of the 16 countries that formed the U.N. coalition forces and sent combat troops to fight on the South Korean side against North Korea.

Clark is scheduled to pay tribute at the U.N. Cemetery in Pusan on Saturday and is to attend a ceremony at the truce village of Panmunjom on Sunday to commemorate the cease-fire anniversary.