China, Russia tell Pyeongyang to ban the bomb

BEIJING -- The leaders of China and Russia called for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula yesterday during a meeting in Beijing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin urged North Korea to comply with an agreement reached with the United States in 1994 for the North to give up its nuclear program.

The two leaders also called for "normalization of relations" between Washington and Pyeongyang. The language was included in a statement covering a wide range of topics of interest to the two countries.

The leaders said it was of "extreme importance" that relations between the United States and North Korea are based on "adherence to agreement already reached, including the Agreed Framework of 1994."

The 1994 agreement provided the North with heavy fuel oil and power-generating reactors in return for suspending its known nuclear program, but recent revelations that the North had persisted in its nuclear ambitions led to a suspension of that fuel supply, with further actions related to the agreement to be decided in December.

A North Korea-watcher in Beijing said the statement, coming from North Korea's two strongest allies, should have special weight in Pyeongyang.

A Seoul official urged the North to "heed the message."

Mr. Jiang has called for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, most recently in October after a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush.

by Yoo Kwang-jong