NORTH KOREA: The US called on North Korea yesterday to shut down its nuclear weapons programme and back off plans to expel UN monitors, saying "threats and broken commitments" will not lead to dialogue.
"We call on the DPRK (North Korea) to reverse its current course, to comply with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) and to eliminate its nuclear weapons programme in a verifiable manner," said White House spokeswoman, Claire Buchan.
US President George W. Bush, in Texas to ring in the New Year on his remote ranch, was closely monitoring the escalating nuclear confrontation on the Korean peninsula, said another US official.
"We seek a peaceful resolution of the situation that North Korea has created," Buchan said, warning the Stalinist regime that "the United States will not negotiate in response to threats or broken commitments." The energy-starved regime in Pyongyang earlier had ratcheted up tensions in the region by saying it will expel IAEA inspectors and reactivate a reprocessing plant for producing weapons-grade plutonium. The moves came just a week after North Korea began disabling UN monitoring equipment and removing seals from the nuclear facilities frozen under IAEA control for the past eight years.
Buchan categorically rejected Pyongyang's justifications for the dramatic decisions, saying those actions "aren't designed to produce electricity, but to advance its nuclear weapons capability." The spokeswoman said Washington would continue to discuss the escalating nuclear crisis with its allies and key nations in the region, including China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
"The international community is in agreement that North Korea's actions are a challenge to responsible nations and has made clear that North Korea's relations with the outside world hinge on its elimination of its nuclear weapons program," she added. While the US warned it will disarm Iraq by force if necessary, the White House stuck to time-honed assurances that when it comes to North Korea, military options are not being considered - for now. - (AFP)