*EPF403 03/04/2004
Powell Says U.S. Committed to Six-Party Talks on North Korea
(Secretary says A.Q. Khan's proliferation network dismantled) (450)

By Peggy B. Hu
Washington File Staff Writer

The United States is committed to working through the six-party talks to achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of North Korea's nuclear programs, according to Secretary of State Colin Powell.

During a media availability following his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon March 4, Powell said the recent round of six-way talks between North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States has resulted in "an institutionalized process" to have further discussions at the working group and plenary level on the North Korean nuclear issue.

The secretary denied a media report that suggests the United States is losing patience with the six-party talks process.

"The president has made it clear that we believe there is a diplomatic solution to this problem and it is a problem we want to approach in as firm a manner as we can and as speedily a manner as we can. But there is no sense of urgency in the sense that we are running out of time and if something doesn't happen in the next month or two then the process will fall apart," he said.

"We have shown patience. And as long as we are seeing progress, we are going to continue to work with the six-party format and our friends to achieve our CVID objectives," Powell said.

The secretary said the United States hopes over time North Korea will realize the benefits of "working with us to solve this problem, so that we can begin to assist North Korea with its very severe needs with respect to energy and other things that they need."

Powell added that "some of our friends in the recent round of six-party talks made it clear to the North Koreans that as soon as they agreed to a CVID and started the process of CVID with a freeze, they might immediately benefit from some of the parties."

In response to a question, Powell said the United States has "learned a great deal" about the role A.Q. Khan of Pakistan played in proliferating nuclear technology.

"[W]e are learning a great deal more about the network and we are tracing the network to all of his various customers and all of the different parts of the network infrastructure," he said. "I think we have pretty much taken the network apart in the sense that it isn't going to be doing much in the future, and we're going to work hard to pull up everything that we know about it from the past."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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