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U.S. not against talks, says Rice

P. S. Suryanarayana

Reaffirms America's military alliance with Japan, South Korea

SINGAPORE: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday pledged continued support for allies such as South Korea and Japan in the context of Pyongyang's nuclear weapon test.

Speaking in Seoul, after meeting South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, Ms. Rice said the United States would "confirm and affirm" its military alliance with these countries in the "changed" situation.

Security arrangements

She said the U.S. would act firmly to uphold its obligations under its security arrangements in the East Asian region.

However, it would be "wrong" to infer that the U.S. was now seeking to "escalate tensions" on the Korean peninsula or on the high seas while addressing the situation arising out of Pyongyang's nuclear test.

Ms. Rice, who will travel to Beijing for follow-up talks with the Chinese leaders during her current round of "shuttle diplomacy," emphasised that the U.S. had not altogether given up the "path of negotiations" to deal with North Korea. Her comment acquired significance in view of China's current initiative of sending a top envoy to Pyongyang.

South Korea is understood to have briefed Ms. Rice about the steps it was contemplating under the United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang. These include inspections of cargo at the inter-Korean border but not, as of now, the kind of ship interdictions on the high seas as suggested by the U.S.

Before reaching Seoul, Ms. Rice met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation.

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