SEOUL — The top U.S. arms-control official yesterday asked North Korea to follow the “Libyan model” of disarmament by abandoning nuclear-arms programs while retaining its leadership.
John Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said, however, that Pyongyang must make the first move before receiving any benefits.
“The central issue is whether North Korea’s leadership will make the bold strategic decision that pursuit of weapons of mass destruction makes their country not more, but less, secure,” Mr. Bolton said in a speech at Yonsei University and a subsequent press conference.
His comments echo statements made here recently by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. She had said she wished North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, would contact Libya’s leader Moammar Gadhafi to ascertain the benefits of abandoning weapons programs and rejoining the international community.
By verifiably abandoning its nuclear-arms programs in a matter of months, Libya gained “a new relationship with the United States and the world,” Mr. Bolton said.
He said Washington had offered no specific rewards, but noted Libya’s decision to disarm was followed by eased U.S. sanctions, improved business ties, and steps toward resuming diplomatic relations.
“The United States has kept its word to Libya, and the evidence is plain for all to see, even Pyongyang,” he said.
Although his statements indicated that Washington is pursuing nuclear disarmament rather than regime change in Pyongyang, Mr. Bolton didn’t appear any less hawkish toward a leader he has characterized as a “tyrannical rogue.”
“There is the possibility that Kim Jong-il will not make the correct choice. … The world should know that even now, the United States and other countries are not sitting idly by and waiting for Kim to see the light,” he said.
Mr. Bolton hinted that anti-proliferation activities — which helped persuade Libya to end its nuclear programs — could be stepped up against North Korea.
Even if there were a nuclear deal, Washington would still have issues with Pyongyang, such as its chemical- and biological-weapons programs and human rights abuses, he said.
“We have a saying: ’Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.’ We will not be fooled again,” he said, in an apparent reference to the Clinton administration’s 1994 Agreed Framework deal that aimed to halt the North’s nuclear program but fell apart when Pyongyang reactivated nuclear facilities in 2002.
Pak Gil-yon, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, told congressional leaders in Washington on Tuesday that Pyongyang was willing to give up its nuclear weapons, but that the United States must first provide certain guarantees.
In a related development, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, meeting for a summit on South Korea’s Cheju Island, said they would supply aid if North Korea gives up its weapons programs.
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