Despite US President Bush's recent remarks of an "axis of evil," the chances of war breaking out on the Korean peninsula is low, said Admiral Dennis Blair, commander of the US Asia Pacific Forces, Friday, while visiting Seoul on a five-nation tour, including Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Admiral Blair told a press conference at the US embassy that there was no chance of the US attacking North Korea, noting that American policy was protection and control oriented. He said military options were only a part of North Korea policy.

However, he said as the North keeps moving its military forces near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and upgrading weapons, the US and South Korea need to control them and have successfully conducted this task so far.

Regarding the summit on February 19, Blair said there was a difference between long distance and face-to-face communication and common concerns of the two nations will be solved when they meet each other, adding that the sunshine policy is proper and dialogue with North Korea is important.

(Park Seung-joon, sjpark@chosun.com )