-Caveat Lector-
"``We have the right to return,'' Perry said.
US: No Nuclear Violation by N.Korea
By DAVID BRISCOE
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The first Western look into North Korean tunnels long
suspected of hiding nuclear weapons activity found nothing to suggest the
country has been violating an anti-nuclear accord, the Clinton administration
said Friday.
State Department spokesman James P. Rubin also said there is no reason to
believe U.S. inspectors who completed their work this week were deceived when
they were taken through a complex of empty tunnels or that the site ever
contained equipment related to nuclear weapons development.
``I don't see how any wool could be pulled over our eyes when there wasn't
any wool,'' Rubin said. Inspectors determined what it would have taken for
the site to have been used as a nuclear facility, Rubin said, and it just
wasn't possible that it had been or was being used for such a purpose.
The inspections by a 14-member team of experts ended as U.S. presidential
envoy William Perry, former defense secretary, was wrapping up meeting with
North Korean officials in Pyongyang.
Rubin said that while Perry did not meet with North Korean President Kim Jong
Il, his delegation was ``well-received'' in Pyongyang and met with a number
of top officials during the visit.
``The delegation met with a range of senior officials from political, foreign
affairs and defense circles and thereby heard authoritative views,'' Rubin
said.
Perry, who was to brief Korean and Japanese officials Saturday before
returning to Washington, is preparing recommendations for President Clinton
and Congress on U.S. policy toward North Korea.
The spokesman said that although U.S. officials had hoped for a meeting with
Kim, the success of Perry's trip did not hinge on whether he could see the
top leader.
On the inspection of the underground facility at Kumchangni, Rubin said,
``Based on what we know thus far, there is no basis to conclude that North
Korea is in violation of the agreed framework.''
The 1994 framework agreement under which North Korea would receive fuel oil
from the United State and nonweapons nuclear reactors, financed by South
Korea and Japan with help from other nations, in exchange for abandoning any
nuclear program that might be used to develop armaments.
``The underground portion of the site is a large empty tunnel complex,''
Rubin said. ``Construction was unfinished, and no equipment was present.''
Addressing speculation that nuclear-related equipment might have been moved
out before U.S. inspectors arrived, Rubin said, ``It was at a stage of
construction prior to the time when any relevant equipment other than
construction equipment would be expected to be present.''
He gave no information on how North Korea described the site's purpose. He
said their focus was on determining whether it was a nuclear site, not on
what North Koreans told them it was.
Rubin said another inspection is scheduled next year, and arrangements are
expected to be made with the North Koreans for other inspections if new
problems are found.
``We have the right to return,'' he said. ``In anticipation of an outcome
such as this preliminary one, we wanted to ensure future visits so that we
could fully remove our suspicions about the intended use of the site.''
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