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President Roh Moo-hyun leaves after a news conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Monday./Reuters-Newsis
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President Roh Moo-hyun on Monday admitted that the government¡¯s engagement policy with North Korea ¡°faces difficulties under the circumstances.¡± He was speaking after a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the day Pyongyang announced it conducted an underground nuclear test. Asked whether package tours to the North¡¯s Mt.Kumgang and work at the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex will continue, Roh said, ¡°Instead of talking about each of these projects, I gave you a comprehensive explanation about them, and I think it was enough for you to understand¡± -- a broad hint that they could be halted over the North¡¯s latest provocation.
Roh and Abe agreed that North Korea¡¯s decision to carry out the nuclear test is ¡°intolerable¡± and vowed to cooperate with the U.S. and China in addressing the issue. They expressed grave concern that Pyongyang went ahead with the test in defiance of international warnings a mere 4 hours and 25 minutes before their summit and agreed the issue calls for immediate discussion in the UN Security Council, sources said. The two leaders abandoned a joint statement they were to have issued due to the emergency and instead gave their views in separate press conferences.
Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush issued a statement at the White House saying even the claim to have conducted a nuclear test ¡°constitutes a threat to international peace and security¡± and called the announcement a ¡°provocative act.¡± He also called for ¡°an immediate response¡± from the Security Council. Bush said North Korea is wholly responsible for the consequences of its behavior. ¡°The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States,¡± he warned.
In a 15-minute phone conversation on the day, Bush assured Roh he would respond with a disciplined and cool-headed attitude and made it clear that cooperation with South Korea among U.S. allies plays the most important role in the matter. The Security Council is discussing a resolution that would invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows use of force. An official with Cheong Wa Dae indicated that if such a resolution comes up for discussion, the government would support it.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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