Rice: No promise on new nuke blast
By Gary James,WNS Russia Bureau Chief
MOSCOW - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday that a high-ranking Chinese envoy, who met earlier with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, did not say that Pyongyang would refrain from conducting further nuclear tests."I don't know whether Kim Jong Il said any such thing referring to whether he regretted the test or not," Rice told reporters, referring to an earlier report from South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
According to the report, Kim said "his country had no plan to conduct an additional nuclear test." Rice was speaking en route to Russia on the final leg of a tour to push U.N. sanctions in response to North Korea's nuclear test. Yonhap attributed the information to an informed diplomatic source in Beijing, China. The news agency said Kim passed along the promise during a meeting with Chinese envoy Tang Jiaxuan.China holds some political sway with North Korea, and provides the nation with most of its food and fuel. North Korea's surprise underground nuclear test on October 9 appeared to confirm long-held fears that the communist country was developing an atomic weapons program. Pyongyang insisted it is attempting to acquire nuclear capabilities for peaceful means, but the test prompted the United Nations to pass Resolution 1718, authorizing sanctions against the communist government.
In Russia, Rice is expected to press Moscow on what practical steps it will take to implement sanctions. While in Moscow she will discuss the matter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
posted by wnsworld @ 8:09 PM
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