US Secretary of State Colin Powell suggested Tuesday that President George W. Bush will repeat his appeal for unconditional dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) during his Asian trip next week.
Speaking at a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee, Powell accused the DPRK of seeking weapons of mass destruction to justify Bush's criticism of the country as a member of the "axis of evil," which also includes Iraq and Iran.
But at the same time, Bush said the US "is ready for dialogue anytime, any place, with no preconditions," Powell said.
He said Bush will repeat the US willingness to hold an unconditional dialogue with the DPRK during his trip to Asia next week, which will take him to Japan, South Korea and China.
"We hope that the North Koreans (the people of DPRK) will take us up on it," Powell noted.
The US secretary said the US has no plan for the moment to go into war with "axis of evil" countries, including the DPRK, but will constrain the DPRK's ability to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Although the Bush administration has repeatedly appealed for an "unconditional" dialogue with DPRK, it has always insisted that the topics must include DPRK's missile development program and its conventional forces along the DPRK-South Korean border.
(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2002)
