YONHAP NEWS

U.S. candidates speak on North Korea, proliferation issues

   WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, a leading U.S. Democrat presidential candidate, gave full support for diplomatic negotiations in defusing North Korea's nuclear issue and said the U.S. must dramatically reduce its own nuclear arsenal.

   Sen. John McCain, a Republican presidential contender, said it was still unclear whether Pyongyang is truly committed to denuclearization and said North Korea's missile programs, abduction of foreign nationals and proliferation must be included in future talks.

   Writing for the November/December issue of "Foreign Affairs," Clinton said President George W. Bush's tactics against North Korea had failed.

   "Like Iran, North Korea responded to the Bush administration's effort to isolate it by accelerating its nuclear program, conducting a nuclear test, and building more nuclear weapons," the New York senator said in her contributed article to the magazine released Monday.

   "Only since the State Department returned to diplomacy have we been able, belatedly, to make progress."
Clinton said changing Iran's and North Korea's course hinges on what the U.S. does with its own nuclear weapons, taking the dramatic steps to reduce the U.S. atomic arsenal to "build support for the coalitions we need to address the threat of nuclear proliferation and help the United States regain the moral high ground."
To reassert U.S. nonproliferation leadership, she would negotiate an accord to substantially and verifiably reduce the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, Clinton said.

   "This dramatic initiative would send a strong message of nuclear restraint to the world, while we retain enough strength to deter others from trying to match our arsenal," the candidate said.

   On Asia, she stressed the importance of cooperation with China, saying, "There is much that the United States and China can and must accomplish together."
"China's support was important in reaching a deal to disable North Korea's nuclear facilities. We should build on this framework to establish a Northeast Asian security regime," said Clinton.

   But on other Asian partners, the senator named Australia, India and Japan as key players.

   McCain lauded the democratic and economic achievements of Asia, with the exception of Pyongyang.

   "North Korea's totalitarian regime and impoverished society buck these trends," he wrote.

   "It is unclear today whether North Korea is truly committed to verifiable denuclearization and a full accounting of all its nuclear materials and facilities, two steps that are necessary before any lasting diplomatic agreement can be reached," he said.

   "Future talks must take into account North Korea's ballistic missile programs, its abduction of Japanese citizens, and its support for terrorism and proliferation."
The Arizona senator argued for continued American engagement in Asia, calling it the linchpin to the region's promise.

   For Japan, he supported permanent membership on the U.N. Security Council. On South Korea, he said he will "seek to rebuild our frayed partnership... by emphasizing economic and security cooperation."
He insisted the existing nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT) must be renegotiated in three ways -- first, on whether non-nuclear weapons states should have the right to nuclear technology, second, to demand the burden of proof for suspected violators of the NPT be reversed so that there would be immediate suspension of nuclear assistance to states suspected of not fully complying with international safeguards.

   And third, the annual US$130 million budget for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. atomic watchdog, must be substantially increased to allow the agency to meet its monitoring and safeguarding tasks, McCain said.

   ldm@yna.co.kr
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