WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The United States said Monday that it has no plans to re-impose sanctions on North Korea despite fears the communist state may be reactivating its nuclear weapons program.
The assurance follows concerns expressed by South Korea that sanctions might raise tensions on the divided peninsula and perhaps even lead to a military conflict with North Korea.
"I don't think anybody has suggested at this point imposing sanctions," State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker said at a briefing in Washington.
The United States had lifted the sanctions in 1999, following an understanding with North Korea that it would shelve its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea also had accepted U.N. supervision on its nuclear facilities. But last week it removed monitoring devices the International Atomic Energy Agency installed at its Yongbyon reactor.
IAEA later reported that North Korea also had removed some of the 4,000 nuclear fuel rods put in storage by the agency. The rods can be reprocessed into plutonium, which can be used in nuclear weapons.
The move caused speculation that the United States may re-impose sanctions on the country, but the State Department rejected such suggestions.
"The Secretary (of State Colin Powell) has not asked any nation to take economic action against this desperately poor country, North Korea," said Reeker.
"What we've talked about ... is that the international community can continue to bring pressure on North Korea by telling them that they've put themselves in this position, they're in serious violation of their international commitments."
He said North Koreans were responsible for their predicament not only because "they're the ones who were developing nuclear weapons, contrary to their commitments. They've never said that they're willing to get back into compliance and to abandon their nuclear program."
In the South Korean capital Seoul, President Kim Dae-jung echoed comments by President-elect Roh Moo-hyun warning that suspension of dialogue and economic assistance to North Korea should only be considered as "the worst case scenario."
Such actions, they said, could cause retaliatory action by North Korea and could even lead to a war in the Korean peninsula.
Reeker assured the Koreans that the United States also wanted to pursue a peaceful resolution to this crisis. "And we have a lot of diplomatic tools at our disposal."
He said the United States was waiting to see what happens in early January when the IAEA board of governor meets and reviews the situation. "And that board of governors of the IAEA will, in all likelihood, make a judgment in terms of what North Korea has done, and then whether to bring it forward to the United Nations," he added.
Reeker said U.S. Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs James Kelly will be going to Southeast Asia within the next week or two to consult with U.S. friends and allies, including South Korea and Japan.
He indicated that Kelly may also visit China but the visit has not yet been finalized. China is North Korea's biggest trading partner, and is seen as the country best able to influence the behavior of the isolated communist state.
