Powell, official from N. Korea discuss weapons

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Secretary of State Colin Powell met today with North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun to discuss the impasse over that country’s nuclear weapons program.

It was the highest-level meeting between the two countries since 2002.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Powell told Paek there was an opportunity for “concrete progress” toward the U.S. goal of complete nuclear disarmament by North Korea.

Boucher said they discussed the proposals that each side put forth at an international meeting last week in China. “The discussion was useful to help clarify each side’s proposal,” he said, alluding to the 20-minute meeting this morning.

Powell emphasized to Paek the administration’s proposals to move forward on the proposed dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear programs.

Powell is in Jakarta to attend the annual summer meeting of Pacific Rim foreign ministers. The meeting with Paek, which was not on Powell’s schedule, was held shortly after 8 a.m. today Jakarta time.

Paek, according to a North Korean statement, said that if the United States wants to improve relations, his government “will not regard the U.S. as a permanent enemy.” He said future relations hinge on a change in the current “hostile policy” of the United States.

Paek added that his country remains committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue. Paek also said “simultaneous actions” were the only way to overcome mutual suspicions with the United States.

“There is no trust between the DPRK (North Korea) and the U.S.,” the statement said.

Powell told a news conference Thursday night that North Korea would be wasting its time if it holds out for economic benefits from the United States before showing serious intent to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

“As we follow the principle of word for word and deed for deed, we have to see deeds before we are prepared to put something on the table,” Powell told a news conference.

The United States and North Korea are part of a six-nation process designed to end the impasse over the communist country’s nuclear weapons program.