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U.S. 'skeptical' of N. Korea vow

By Jon Ward
January 3, 2008

John R. Bolton, who formerly headed the State Department's counterproliferation office, welcomed the "shift" to realism in the U.S. stand on North Korea. (Getty Images )

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The White House yesterday said that North Korea's delays in detailing its nuclear-weapons program have made the U.S. skeptical of Pyongyang's pledge to give up its nuclear weapons.

North Korea agreed in October to declare its full range of nuclear activities and weapons by Dec. 31, but has yet to make any announcement.

"They were a part of the agreement that established this deadline, and we don't have reason to believe that they won't, but we are skeptical, given the length of time that it's taken," said White House press secretary Dana Perino, in a morning briefing.

Later in the day, Mrs. Perino said that "as we've dealt with North Korea over the past several years, it is only appropriate that we would be skeptical."

Former Bush administration official John R. Bolton, who headed the State Department's counterproliferation office in President Bush's first term, called Mrs. Perino's comments "a shift, and a welcome one" in the White House position toward North Korea.

Mr. Bolton has been critical of the agreement reached last February, and expanded upon in October, for North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il to give up his nuclear-weapons program.

"I have faith in the North Koreans that they're going to do what they always do," Mr. Bolton said yesterday, referring to several failed deals in the past. "I don't think there's any chance they're ever going to give up their nuclear weapons."

The State Department, however, reacted positively yesterday to North Korea's failure to meet the deadline agreed to in talks with the U.S. and four other countries — South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.

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