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Thursday, October 2, 2003
U.N. Inspectors Head for Iran
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… VOA news article online, “UN Nuclear Inspectors Head for Iran”. Excerpts: “U.N. nuclear inspectors are headed to Iran in another attempt to determine if the Islamic republic is seeking to develop atomic weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency team, led by Belgian Pierre Goldschmidt, is to meet with top Iranian officials on Thursday. Before leaving Vienna Wednesday, Mr. Goldschmidt said the team expects to make a lot of progress. His comments coincided with remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, who told reporters Tehran will do all it can to keep the IAEA from referring Iran's nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council. Mr. Kharrazi promised greater cooperation with inspectors but also indicated Iran does not want to allow limitless inspections of its nuclear facilities without its right to enrich uranium being guaranteed. The United States suspects Iran is enriching uranium to make nuclear bombs. Previous IAEA inspections revealed traces of weapons-grade uranium at two sites. Tehran blames the finds on contaminated equipment it imported from another country, and insists its nuclear activities are peaceful in nature. Tuesday, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei warned that without full access, the inspectors will not be able to verify Tehran's statements to the agency's governing board. That board, in turn, would have to report to the U.N. Security Council for possible economic and diplomatic sanctions.
South Korea refuses troops for Iraq before crisis settled
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… Unionleader.com article by AP writer Soo-Jeong Lee, “SOUTH KOREA – No troops for Iraq before crisis settled.” Excerpts: “South Korea must be confident that tensions over North Korea's nuclear ambitions will be resolved peacefully before Seoul considers sending troops to Iraq, South Korea's president said Wednesday. Washington has asked South Korea, a major Asian ally, to dispatch thousands of combat troops to help American forces secure stability in postwar Iraq. Talks to end the standoff over North Korea's suspected development of nuclear weapons are stalling over strident differences between Washington and Pyongyang, and South Korea wants the United States to make a firm commitment to a peaceful solution. "Prior to making any decision on the troop dispatch, it is extremely important to arrive at a positive outlook for and conviction in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said in a speech marking Armed Forces Day. Speaking before 25,000 soldiers and other guests at an airport outside Seoul, Roh said, "I again urge the North to abandon its nuclear development and come onto the path toward peace and coexistence." North Korea has said repeatedly that it wants a nonaggression pact and aid from the United States before it scraps its nuclear weapons programs. Washington said the North must first give up its nuclear ambitions. The United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia met in Beijing last month for talks on the North's nuclear weapons program but did not set a date for further talks. On Tuesday, North Korea Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon told the U.N. General Assembly that Pyongyang would not return to talks unless Washington took "simultaneous action" to meet its demands, saying it made no sense for the communist country to "put down the guns first." The crisis began in October, when U.S. officials said North Korea admitted having a nuclear program in violation of international agreements. Some South Koreans believe sending troops to Iraq would boost Seoul's military alliance with the United States, vital to its national security. Others oppose it, saying the U.S. military operations in Iraq were unjustified. Activists staged violent protests when South Korea sent 675 non-combat troops to assist in the U.S.-led reconstruction of Iraq earlier this year.
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