Seoul Will Play a Leading Part On North's Conventional Arms

WASHINGTON － Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin said after meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday that South Korea would play a leading role in dealing with North Korea's conventional weapons capability in close consultation with the United States.

He said South Korea would follow the 1992 North-South Basic Agreement in dealing with the issue.

"The conventional forces issue is unlikely to be adopted on the official agenda in negotiations between North Korea and the United States, since the North understands the issue as the disarming of its military," Mr. Kim said. "I have pointed out to Mr. Rumsfeld that North Korea will strongly demand the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea if the conventional forces issue becomes an agenda item."

Cha Yeong-gu, director-general of policy planning at the Ministry of National Defense, explained that Mr. Rumsfeld effectively had agreed to the South Korean position that South Korea should play a leading role in negotiating with North Korea on resolving the North's conventional weapons threat.

Mr. Kim and Mr. Rumsfeld also agreed on a long-term deployment of American troops on the Korean peninsula, progress in U.S.-South Korean alliance in connection with the changing security atmosphere in Northeast Asia and the need for the verification of the North's missile development program.

Mr. Rumsfeld said he supported the South Korean government's engagement policy toward North Korea and hoped for an early meeting between defense ministers from North and South Korea.

The South Korean government argues that it is entirely possible for the United States to defer a leading role in negotiating the North's conventional capability.

But analysts said the leading role may exist only in words if the United States pushes ahead with its own point of view during its future negotiations with North Korea.

They also suggested that Mr. Rumsfeld may have expressed his "understanding" rather than a full agreement, as the South Korean government alleges.

by Kim Jin