U.S. attempts contact with N. Korean military leaders

Posted on : 2007-12-31 11:42 KST Modified on : 2007-12-31 11:42 KST
Washington fears N. Korean military may not respect Kim Jong-il’s order to abandon weapons

WASHINGTON - The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has reportedly tried to make contact with North Korean military leaders, fearing opposition by the North Korean military in international talks on the North’s nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal reported on December 29.

Citing a high-ranking official in the U.S. government, the newspaper reported that Washington recently asked the North Korean Foreign Ministry to join its majors and generals in a meeting between the United States and North Korea. The proposal was seen as a signal for increasing military contact between Washington and Pyongyang, the newspaper reported. However, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry rejected the U.S. proposal, because North Korea’s foreign ministry is leading talks on the North’s nuclear program, according to the newspaper.

The high-ranking U.S. official said the attempt to contact North Korean military leaders came because the North Korean military control most of its nuclear facilities, and there is a lack of confidence that they may not respect Kim Jong-il’s order to give up its nuclear weapons. “The North Korean military remains a big question mark for us,” the newspaper quoted as the official saying.

Although there have been low-level military contacts between the United States and North Korea, high-level meetings have been stalled since October 2000, when Jo Myong-rok, vice marshal of North Koreas’s People’s Army visited Washington as a special envoy.

The newspaper reported that the Bush administration could be expected to give North Korea more time to disable its nuclear weapons program, despite a previously-stated, end-of-year deadline.

Meanwhile, the U.S. administration has supported cultural exchanges between the two countries as a way of enhancing diplomatic ties, including the facilitation of an upcoming performance by the New York Philharmonic in February in Pyongyang.


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