N. Korea Criticizes 'Hostile' U.S. Policy

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SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Saturday that it was "quite possible" to settle the international standoff over its nuclear weapons program if the United States allows for the existence of the communist regime.

The statement from Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry marked North Korea's first official comment on the prospects of six-nation nuclear talks since President Bush was re-elected to a second four-year term earlier this month.

"If the U.S. drops its hostile policy aimed at 'bringing down the system' in the (North) and opts for co-existing with the latter, in practice, it will be quite possible to settle the issue," a Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the North's official news agency, KCNA.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041113/ap_on_re_as/koreas_nuclear

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1. South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun on Friday issued a strong warning

to the US that a hard line US policy over North Korea's nuclear weapons would have "grave repercussions."

Roh, speaking on a two-day visit to the US, urged Washington instead to resume multilateral talks with North Korea and to reassure the communist state that it did not face an external threat and that the crisis would be resolved peacefully.

"There is no alternative left in dealing with this issue except dialogue, and a hard line policy will have grave repercussions and implications for the Korean peninsula," Roh said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/11/14/2003211000