In relaying Hadley's comments, Grand National Party lawmaker Park Jin explained that he had meant, "not pursuing the overthrow or replacement of the current regime, but encouraging changes in the regime through economic reform and the like." Park said "economic transformation" was one of the fundamental reforms Washington hoped to see take place in the North.

Hadley also said that U.S. President George W. Bush believed the six-party talks were the best way to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, and it was the firm position of the U.S. government that the matter should be solved through dialogue. He qualified this by adding that there was no time to stall the issue and "managed pressure" was needed to bring closure.

The five nations in the talks needed to speak to the North with a united voice, he said, otherwise Pyongyang could navigate its way through the cracks to find extra leverage, conveyed Rep. Park.

Hadley's comments suggest the United States is conscious of the effects its talk of regime change have had in unsettling North and South Korea, as verbalized recently by President Roh Moo-hyun during his trip to Europe.

According to Uri Party lawmaker Chung Eui-yong, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said his government was not placing a time limit on solving the nuclear dispute, but if no further progress was made, Washington would begin to consider several options, including referral of the issue to the United Nations Security Council.

Chung explained that Armitage said the United States has no intention of attacking North Korea, and believed such an act would be irresponsible.

(Heo Yong-beom, heo@chosun.com )