N. Korea Accused Of Violating Accord Statement Issued As A U.S. Negotiator Tries To Reassure Members Of Congress

The Clinton administration accused North Korea on Thursday of undermining the Korean War armistice accord in an effort to force the United States to negotiate a formal peace treaty.

The Korean War ended more than 40 years ago with an armistice. The United States insists that any formal peace treaty must be negotiated between North and South Korea.

“If Pyongyang hopes its attempts to destroy the mechanism set up by the armistice agreement will lead us to enter into bilateral talks on a peace treaty, it is badly mistaken,” said a statement issued at the State Department. As envisioned by the North Koreans, peace talks would not include South Korea.

Specifically, State Department spokesman Christine Shelly accused the North Koreans of undermining the neutral nations commission that investigates alleged armistice violations. It said North Korea has failed to nominate a successor to Czechoslovakia and is threatening to evict the Polish contingent on the commission.

The statement was issued as a U.S. negotiator was trying to reassure members of Congress skeptical about the agreement reached last year to freeze North Korea’s nuclear program.

Robert Gallucci said Pyongyang’s refusal to accept a nuclear reactor from South Korea won’t nullify the agreement requiring the communist regime to freeze its nuclear program.

Gallucci told the House International Relations Committee that the Pyongyang regime was balking at accepting the reactor because “we believe the North finds it politically difficult to have South Koreans build reactors in its country.”

“Is it fair to say, if North Korea rejects the use of South Korean reactors, then we do not have an agreement?” asked Rep. Toby Roth, R-Wis.

“The benefit to them (under the agreement) is a light-water reactor project,” said Gallucci. “The failure of the North Koreans to accept that model at this point is not an obstacle to implementation from our perspective.”

Gallucci also said the U.S. position throughout has been that “we could find no, repeat no, alternative to the model of a South Korean reactor.”

There were several tense exchanges between committee Republicans, skeptical about the agreement, and Gallucci.