US war with N Korea this year?

2003-07-15 13:45

Washington - William Perry, who served as defence secretary under President Bill Clinton, believes the United States and North Korea could be at war as early as this year, The Washington Post said on Tuesday.

The immediate cause of concern, Perry said in an interview, is that North Korea appeared to have begun reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods.

"I have thought for some months that if the North Koreans moved toward processing, then we are on a path toward war," he told the paper.

"I think we are losing control" of the situation, he said, adding that he believes Pyongyang will soon be testing nuclear warheads and that terrorists could purchase the devices to use them against the United States.

"The nuclear program now underway in North Korea poses an imminent danger of nuclear weapons being detonated in American cities," said Perry, adding that he reached his conclusions after speaking with White House officials, South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun and senior Chinese officials.

Perry, who is widely respected in US national security circles and deeply involved in Korean policy issues, said the situation with North Korea "was manageable six months ago if we did the right things.

"But we haven't done the right things," he added.

Perry said he had not criticised President George W Bush's North Korea policy up to now " because I had hoped that the administration was going to act on this problem, and that public criticism might be counterproductive. But time is running out, and each month the problem gets more dangerous."

He said Washington's Korea policy was in disarray and that the multilateral diplomatic approach "as nearly as I can discern, is inconsequential."

From his discussions, Perry has concluded that Bush simply won't enter into genuine talks with Pyongyang's Stalinist government.

"My theory is the reason we don't have a policy on this, and we aren't negotiating, is the president himself," Perry said. "I think he has come to the conclusion that (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Il is evil and loathsome and it is immoral to negotiate with him."

- AFX