S Korea's Roh cautions US hawks

By Bridget Kendall
BBC diplomatic correspondent

Mr Roh is on South Korea's first state visit to the UK

South Korea's President Roh Moo-hyun has warned the US not to drive North Korea into a corner by taking too aggressive an approach.

He voiced concern about influential US circles who, he said, were calling for regime change in North Korea.

Instead, President Roh urged a policy of persuasion and dialogue as a better way to get North Korea to change.

He was speaking in a BBC interview on the first state visit to the UK by a South Korean president.

"I feel that the more advisable course would be one that would not drive North Korea into a corner," he said.

The North Korean nuclear weapons capability will by no means, and under no circumstances, be tolerated Roh Moo-hyun

His comments come at a delicate time in international efforts to persuade North Korea to rejoin talks on its controversial nuclear programme.

Nervousness

In the interview, the South Korean president said no one would tolerate a nuclear capability in North Korea and it was not that the US government had been aggressive.

"Let me assure you that the North Korean nuclear weapons capability will by no means, and under no circumstances, be tolerated," he said.

But he said some vocal circles in the US with considerable influence had been calling for regime change in North Korea, when the only way to induce it to embark on reforms was through dialogue.

It is not the first time South Korea has insisted that resolving the crisis over North Korea can only be done peacefully.

But these latest comments appear to reflect increased nervousness at what is being described as a tense moment in negotiations.

For months North Korea has refused to rejoin multi-party talks, blaming what it called a hostile US attitude and apparently waiting to see what would be the result of the US election.

Now this week it once again rebuffed attempts to restart a dialogue.

It seems South Korea's president is worried that unless rhetoric in the US is toned down, it may be difficult to get North Korea to change its mind.

Despite "considerable controversy" back home over his Iraq policy, Mr Roh said he will be looking to extend the duration of deployment of Korean troops.