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U.S. contemplated striking N. Korea: Roh
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- South Korea's President-elect Roh Moo-hyun says the United States had once contemplated the possibility of attacking North Korea over its alleged nuclear arms program. Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Roh said U.S. officials had considered an attack on North Korea before turning to diplomatic efforts in a bid to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program. "Realistically, when I was elected, the hard-line people and even people in responsible positions in the U.S. administration were talking about the possibility of striking North Korea," Roh said in his first nationwide appearance on state-run KBS-TV television. "And so, I felt really desperate. I thought that this had to be stopped by all means." Washington officials, though, responded by saying the United States "has no intention of invading North Korea." However, U.S. military and intelligence officials told CNN the Bush administration has been involved in what one official called "prudent planning" for military options against North Korea. (Full story) The revelations follow in the wake of top U.S. officials carrying out diplomatic shuttles through Asia aimed at helping defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula. Two American diplomats -- special envoy Maurice Strong and Assistant Secretary of State James Kelley -- were in Beijing after visiting the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Meanwhile, the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea said Washington could offer North Korea economic cooperation if it gives up its alleged nuclear weapons program. The current debate over North Korea heated up after officials there said the country was restarting its nuclear program, frozen under a 1994 agreement. North Korea said it took the action because the United States had failed to follow through on agreements that would have provided North Korea with light water nuclear reactors. The communist nation says it restarted its Yongbyon nuclear reactor to provide power after Washington stopped sending heavy fuel oil shipments to North Korea. In an escalation of the standoff, this month North Korea announced it was pulling out of the 1994 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Since the announcements, the United States, South Korea and Japan -- all treaty signers -- have held talks in an effort to get North Korea to end its nuclear ambitions. Envoys also have visited the nation. Russian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Losyukov arrived in the North Korean capital Saturday, but told the Russian news agency Itar-Tass it was too soon to say how the discussions were progressing, but he described them as useful. Cabinet-level talks are scheduled between the two Koreas next week in Seoul, the South Korean capital, and Roh said he would be willing to meet the North Korean delegation. The president-elect predicted North Korea will choose to halt its nuclear program. But North Korean leader Kim Jong Il carried on with his brinkmanship over the weekend, praising his military for defending the country against what he called moves toward war by the enemy. State-run television quoted Kim as it broadcast photographs of his visit to an air force base. It said Kim met the men and their families and told them he was proud of them. -- CNN Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-ae and White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report.
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