S Korea's Roh plays down North's missile threat

Helsinki, Sept 8: South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said his country did not have any proof that North Korea was planning to test nuclear weapons.

Roh told a news conference that North Korea's missiles tested in July were also more likely to have been a political weapon than a physical one.

''Perhaps we should look at this missile issue first. North Korea has fired missiles and the technology used is not sufficient to reach the United States,'' Roh told a news conference in Finland, where he was paying a state visit ahead of the ASEM summit of European and Asian leaders.

''This makes no sense. Maybe this missile was not made for a physical attack, but for political purposes,'' he said, speaking through an interpreter.

Roh said the media constantly reported the missiles were a possible physical threat, and this made it difficult to deal with the issue.

He said South Korea had no evidence that the North had tested or planned to test any nuclear weapons.

Asked about the possibility that the United States and China would warn Pyongyang over testing nuclear weapons, he said: ''Talk on this hypothesis can worsen the relationship between South and North Korea. That is why it is difficult for me to answer this question.'' Pyongyang test-fired its missiles on July 5 and has refused to return to six-party talks on its nuclear programme.

Those talks, which have been dormant since November, also included the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.

REUTERS

Related Stories