WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, preparing for a visit to China next week, said North Korea still poses a threat not only to South Korea but to the United States. A U.S. delegation now in Beijing is urging China's support in containing Pyongyang's strategic advances in missiles and nuclear development.
"North Korea historically has had one of the largest militaries in the
world, forward deployed," Cohen said. "It does still pose a threat to not
only South Korea" but has the "capability of posing a threat to
the United States and others in the future."
Cohen, arriving in Beijing on Tuesday, is expected to meet the mainland's Defense Minister Chi Haotian and President Jiang Zemin during his stay.
A U.S. delegation now in China is urging Beijing to help restrain
North Korea's intercontinental missile programs, Middle East Newsline reported.
The U.S. delegation will be led by John Holum, President Bill Clinton's
adviser on arms control. Holum will also discuss alleged Chinese help to
missile programs of Iran, Syria and other Middle East countries.
U.S. officials said North Korea's missile and nuclear program will be a
key issue on the agenda of nonproliferation talks with China. The talks
begin in Beijing on Friday.
China is regarded as a key ally of Pyongyang. Officials said Washington
wants Beijing's support to dismantle North Korea's missile programs in
exchange for billions of dollars in international aid.
Cohen said the administration wants to build on the success of the summit between North Korea and South Korea last
month. He said North Korea still poses a threat to the United States.
"We have to look at not only their words today, but their capabilities. And so we have to continue to
provide for our security issues, and we will take that into account as the situation unfolds."
Cohen's visit to the mainland next week, his first since January 1998, signals a thaw in military relations, which went into the deep freeze after NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, a senior US defense official said last night.
''This is an indication that we're back to a full military-to-military relationship,'' the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The mainland suspended dialogue on military contacts, arms non-proliferation and human rights after NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May 1999, which the United States said was an accident and for which it offered repeated apologies.
''This is [Cohen's] first visit since several incidents last year, including the war in Kosovo and the accidental bombing, so it's a significant and important visit ... and it does mark a resumption of our full agenda of a number of military-to-military activities,'' the defense official said.
But the mainland and the United States are squarely on opposite sides of at least one key issue that will be discussed: the proposed U.S. national missile defense system.
