Clinton December 28 Statement on U.S. Policy Toward N. Korea

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

December 28, 2000

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

For several years, we have been working with our East Asian allies to
improve relations with North Korea in a way that strengthens peace and
stability on the Korean Peninsula. We have made substantial progress,
including the 1994 Agreed Framework, which froze North Korea's
production of plutonium for nuclear weapons under ongoing
international inspections, and the 1999 moratorium on long-range
missile tests. I believe new opportunities are opening for progress
toward greater stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula. However, I
have determined that there is not enough time while I am President to
prepare the way for an agreement with North Korea that advances our
national interest and provides the basis for a trip by me to
Pyongyang. Let me emphasize that I believe this process of engagement
with North Korea, in coordination with South Korea and Japan, holds
great promise and that the United States should continue to build on
the progress we have made.

Our policy toward North Korea has been based on a strong framework
developed at my request by former Secretary of Defense William Perry
and carried out by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Special
Advisor Wendy Sherman. We have coordinated each step forward with our
allies, the Republic of Korea and Japan. The engagement policy of
President Kim Dae Jung and his personal leadership have spurred this
process and earned the world's admiration. Taken together, our efforts
have reduced tensions on the Korean Peninsula, improved prospects for
enduring peace and stability in the region, and opened an opportunity
to substantially reduce, if not eliminate, the threat posed by North
Korean missile development and exports.

This past October, when DPRK Chairman Kim Jong Il invited me to visit
his country, and later when Secretary Albright traveled to Pyongyang,
Chairman Kim put forward a serious proposal concerning his missile
program. Since then, we have discussed with North Korea proposals to
eliminate its missile export program as well as to halt further
missile development. While there is insufficient time for me to
complete the work at hand, there is sufficient promise to continue
this effort. The United States has a clear national interest in seeing
it through.