U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday the U.S. will push for a peaceful solution to solve the North Korea nuclear issue.
Speaking in Seoul, South Korea, where he attended the inauguration of new South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun, Mr. Powell said the U.S. will not use force to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE
“President Bush and President Roh, as well as other leaders, are in complete agreement on this point. Both of the countries and many others have a stake, that peaceful North Korean Peninsula is verifiably free of nuclear weapons.”
While Mr. Powell was meeting with Australia’s Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, who also attended the inauguration, North Korea test-fired a missile over the sea.
International attention focused on North Korea after it threatened to resume its nuclear weapons program and withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.