White House: 'Ball remains in North Korea's court'

From John King
CNN

James Kelly, assistant U.S. secretary of state, is greeted by Lim Dong-won, South Korean presidential security adviser, in Seoul on Tuesday.

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VIDEO CNN's Andrea Koppel says the Bush administration is relying on a series of diplomatic moves to relieve tensions with N. Korea PLAY VIDEO CNN's Andrea Koppel has a look at what experts think North Korea wants in return for stopping its nuclear program. PLAY VIDEO The United States can look to past conflicts with North Korea to assess its options in the standoff. CNN's Wolf Blitzer reports. PLAY VIDEO Diplomatic efforts seeking to end the North Korean stalemate gather steam in South Korea, but no new initiatives emerge. CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon reports. PLAY VIDEO RELATED • Analysis: North Korea's nuclear trump card  • Focus: Assessing the North Korean threat  • Interactive: North Korea's nuclear facility  • Special Report: Nuclear nation?  • Timeline: Nuclear development  • North Korea demands talks  • Playing with words: N. Korea's media  • N. Korea missile 'could hit U.S.'  • A long history of tensions  NONPROLIFERATION PACT The nonproliferation treaty is an international agreement that took force in 1970, encompassing 187 parties, including the five nuclear weapon states. States with nuclear weapons pledged not to share that technology, and others pledged not to attempt to acquire it.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House Tuesday welcomed Russia and China's increasing involvement in trying to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff through diplomacy but stood firm that "North Korea has got to put itself back into compliance" before talks between that country and the United States could proceed.

"The ball remains in North Korea's court when it comes to talking with the United States," said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.

During White House meetings with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, U.S. President George W. Bush said, "We expect them to disarm (and) we expect them not to develop nuclear weapons."

"Prior to North Korea making the decision it made," Bush said, "I had instructed our secretary of state to approach North Korea about a bold initiative, an initiative which would talk about energy and food because we care deeply about the suffering of the North Korean people"

He added, "I view this as an opportunity to bind together nations in the neighborhood and around the world" to let North Korea know the issue can be resolved peacefully.

China's foreign ministry on Tuesday said Beijing would be willing to play host to U.S.-North Korea talks.

Russia, meanwhile, announced it plans to send its deputy foreign minister, Alexander Losyukov, to North Korea, China and the United States to help mediate the crisis. (Full story)

"Nobody in the world wants to repeat the pattern where North Korea has the ability to put the world through blackmail once again," Fleischer said. "We've already made it plain that we're willing to talk. We're not willing to negotiate."

A White House official told CNN the greatest role China could play is "using its influence on the substantive issues, and prevailing upon the North to undertake what is necessary" to resolve the standoff.

In independent talks that ended Saturday between North Korean diplomats and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the North Koreans assured Richardson that their country does not intend to build nuclear weapons.

A senior Bush administration official told CNN in October that Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly was told by a high-level North Korean official that North Korea has a nuclear weapons program.

The conclusion of the New Mexico talks came two days after North Korea announced its withdrawal from the international nuclear nonproliferation treaty, significantly increasing tensions in the region.

Some 37,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as part of a United Nations force to defend the nation against possible attack.

Kelly arrived in Beijing on Tuesday after finishing two days of talks in South Korea's capital, Seoul, that were described by diplomats as productive.

Kelly, the chief U.S. troubleshooter on the issue, said opportunities for the United States and others to solve North Korea's energy problems will come up "once we can get beyond nuclear weapons."

Also, he said, any future private investment could help North Korea resolve its energy needs once its nuclear program has ceased.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told The Wall Street Journal a "new arrangement" is necessary in any agreement with North Korea. Powell was referring to Bush administration concerns that the 1994 agreement negotiated by the Clinton administration did not contain sufficient verification requirements.

The United States and its allies in the region stopped shipments of heavy fuel oil after U.S. officials said North Korea admitted working to develop enriched uranium for use in a nuclear weapon.

"There'll be no fuel oil flowing, there'll be no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow until there is verifiable dismantling of their nuclear weapons," Fleischer said.

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