President opposes pressure on N.K.

President Roh Moo-hyun opposes increasing pressure on North Korea to get it to end its nuclear ambitions, and says antagonizing the isolationist state will only aggravate the situation.

In an interview with the German daily Die Welt during his stay in Germany, Roh spelled out his North Korean policy and also expressed optimism about the 30-month-old nuclear standoff.

"I am skeptical about the idea that increased pressure against North Korea will make the North discard its program. In reverse, (the pressure) could make the situation worse," Roh was quoted as saying.

His remarks came as some U.S. hard-liners recently indicated Washington might apply further pressure on Pyongyang, including referring the issue to the U.N. Security Council if the North shows no willingness to return to the negotiating table.

Since the third round of six-party talks denuclearization talks last June, North Korea has been refusing to participate in another round of the discussions which group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

The nuclear dispute became more tense after the North declared Feb. 10 it possesses nuclear weapons and will boycott the talks indefinitely until the United States changes its hostile policy. Since then it has made further demands, including recognition by the United States.

President Roh, however, reiterated his optimistic view of settling the standoff.

"We will mention sanctions when we believe there is no hope, but this is not the situation where there`s no hope," Roh said. "There is possibility the North will come back to the negotiating table, and China has been doing its best for that.

"North Korea has neither said it cannot discard its nuclear programs whatsoever, nor has the United States said it will not recognize North Korea," he added.

Roh held a summit Wednesday with German Chancellor GerhardScroeder at which he reiterated South Korea will support Germany`s bid for a permanent U.N. Security Council seat if such a reform plan ends up being approved.

Earlier in the day, at a meeting with a group of Korean residents in Frankfurt, Roh said he sees little chances of a sudden collapse of the Pyongyang regime, an event that would not be welcomed by Seoul.

"Chances are very low that North Korea will collapse suddenly, and we don`t have any intention to encourage it either," Roh said.

He said he believes the communist state has the structural ability to manage any contingencies.

Roh hoped for a reunification different from Germany`s experience, where the merging of West and East Germany cost vast sums of money and brought other problems.

"It would be good if the two Koreas are reunified through the form of national confederation, which is after South Korea establishes a peace structure and develops inter-Korean relations through bilateral cooperation, while North Korea builds the capacity for national unification," he said

Roh was slated to fly to Turkey late yesterday for a four-day visit after winding up his five-day stay in Germany. He leaves for home on Sunday.

(smjoo@heraldm.com)



By Joo Sang-min