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What did White House spokesman Tony Snow mean when he said Saturday that the U.S. will consider ¡°a declaration of the end of the Korean War¡± if North Korea gives up its nuclear program? A government official said "The remark reaffirms the statement of principles¡± from the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program in September last year, ¡°when the North promised to give up its nuclear programs in return for economic aid. It¡¯s nothing new.¡±
Clause 4 of the statement says concerned countries negotiate a permanent peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula in an appropriate and separate forum. But experts say the remark means that a peace treaty can be discussed in the framework of the six-party talks, and that it is meaningful because the White House is directly asking North Korea to make a strategic decision on the matter. The two Koreas are still technically at war since the Korean War only ended with an armistice.
There are conflicting views whether the U.S. will not take issue with the North Korean regime itself, including its human rights abuses, once the nuclear issue is resolved. "The U.S. talked about a similar approach it took to Libya. When the country gave up its nuclear weapons, the U.S. stopped taking issue with Gaddafi¡¯s regime,¡± says Prof. Kim Sung-han of the Institute for Foreign Affairs and National Security. Prof. Kim Keun-sik of Kyungnam University says, "The remarks seem to sketch the big picture, which is bold enough to consider normalization of the U.S.-North Korea relationship after the North gives up its nuclear ambition.¡± But a researcher with a state-run research institute said, "This is an idea that State Department Counselor Philip Zelikow came up with early this year. It simply means that the U.S. could pursue both the six-party talks and a peace treaty simultaneously. It does not make it clear whether the U.S. will recognize the North Korean regime or not.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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