N. Korea Leaves Nuclear Weapons Treaty Fri Jan 10 2003,11:58 AM ET By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer [The US has complained that NK is sneding "mixed messages" about its nuclear intentions, at the same time continuing to mass manpower in the Gulf in apparent preparation for war with Iraq while periodically stating that "war is not invenitable"]. SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea, warning of a "Third World War," withdrew from the global treaty that bars it from making nuclear weapons but said Friday it was willing to talk to Washington to end the escalating crisis. President Bush talked by phone Friday with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who voiced disappointment and concern. South Korea called the nuclear standoff a matter of "life and death." The chief of the U.N. nuclear agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said in Washington that "North Korea has to take the first step, once that first step is taken there is a lot of light at the tunnel." "They must be assured that they will get something back for good behavior," ElBaradei told reporters, mentioning that economic assistance could be forthcoming should Pyongyang abandon its nuclear program. In his 15-minute conversation with Jiang, Bush told the Chinese president that "this finds us in common purpose," according to presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer. Bush also told the Chinese leader the United States "has no hostile intentions toward North Korea" and seeks a peaceful solution to the standoff, Fleischer said. For his part, Jiang "reiterated China's commitment to a non-nuclear Korean peninsula," he added. "China disagrees to the withdrawal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)," China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Jiang as telling Bush. China is North Korea's closest ally. Jiang's comments were seen as particularly significant because Beijing chooses its words carefully when discussing the issue of North Korea. It has avoided direct criticism of its neighbor and fellow communist state. Jiang's statement appeared to use slightly stronger language than usual; China typically says only that it advocates a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula." Earlier, Washington had said North Korea already was violating the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty by secretly pursuing weapons development and flouting U.N. safeguards. The United States believes the North already has one or two nuclear bombs. "The North Koreans were not adhering to the treaty when they were still a party to it," said Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton, who was visiting Thailand. North Korea said it was quitting the treaty because of alleged U.S. aggression, but said it had no intention of producing nuclear weapons and would use its nuclear program only for peaceful purposes "at this stage." The North's declaration heightened tension as the United States and its allies seek a diplomatic solution. Pyongyang's action could mean the North is trying to force the United States to make concessions, including a nonaggression treaty and economic aid. Bush called the Chinese president as two North Korean envoys met in Santa Fe, N.M., with Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador and diplomatic troubleshooter. Richardson chatted briefly about the weather with his guests Friday at a picture-taking session at the governor's mansion. Asked to assess the talks, Richardson replied, "I'm not an official negotiator, but they're going well." They had met for two hours over dinner on Thursday. Richardson was U.N. ambassador during the Clinton administration and visited North Korea on two diplomatic missions while he was still a member of Congress during the 1990s. Fleischer indicated he didn't know whether the talks had been productive, but noted that the two North Korea diplomats would remain in Santa Fe for another day or two. North Korea's U.N. ambassador criticized the Bush administration's offer to talk but not negotiate. "I think that is not a sincere attitude of the negotiators," Pak Gil Yon told a news conference at the United Nations on Friday. The ambassador reiterated Pyongyang's position that it would consider any additional U.N. sanctions as a declaration of war, but refused to give details on how the North would react. In Vienna, Austria, the U.N. nuclear agency said Pyongyang should reverse course and open negotiations. It did not mention taking the case to the U.N. Security Council, where the North could face further economic sanctions. The North Korean envoy also said that the North would not engage in production of nuclear weapons for the time being, but insisted "future developments will entirely depend on the United States." As it announced it would pull out of the treaty, a keystone to global nuclear nonproliferation, the North warned the United States not to take military action against it. Pyongyang said a "new Korean War will finally lead to the Third World War" and that the North could hold its own in a "fire-to-fire standoff." The comment was distributed by the official North Korean news agency in English. The treaty, which the North joined in 1985, requires a withdrawing nation to give three months notice. North Korea, however, said it was withdrawing as of Saturday. Britain, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Philippines and Russia were among countries that expressed deep concern. Britain condemned the North Korean move as "a wrong decision." South Korean President Kim Dae-jung said dialogue was the only way to solve the nuclear crisis, which he called a matter of "life and death." His National Security Council held an emergency meeting. Afterward, the Foreign Ministry said the North's withdrawal was a "serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula" and urged it to retract its decision. The nuclear tension could be discussed at Cabinet-level talks between the two Koreas that are scheduled for Jan. 21-24 in Seoul. However, North Korea says the issue is strictly a matter between it and the United States. In a clear signal it feared losing face, the government said through KNCA: "We can no longer remain bound to the NPT, allowing the country's security and the dignity of our nation to be infringed upon." "Though we pull out of the NPT, we have no intention of producing nuclear weapons and our nuclear activities at this stage will be confined only to peaceful purposes such as the production of electricity," the news agency said. However, analysts say a nuclear reactor in the North Korean town of Yongbyon -- the focus of the latest dispute -- provides a negligible amount of power. The facility was the centerpiece of a weapons program until it was frozen in a 1994 energy deal with the United States. U.S. officials said that North Korean negotiators acknowledged in October that they had a second, clandestine nuclear program. In 1993, North Korea also announced that it was withdrawing from the treaty, but suspended the decision three months later and entered talks with the United States. It again left open the possibility of a negotiated solution. "If the U.S. drops its hostile policy to stifle the DPRK and stops its nuclear threat to it, the DPRK may prove through a separate verification between the DPRK and the U.S. that it does not make any nuclear weapons," the North Korean government statement said. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the communist state's official name. The crisis worsened last month when Pyongyang expelled U.N. inspectors at the Yongbyon site and said it was reactivating the facilities. Experts say North Korea could make several more bombs within six months if it extracts weapons-grade plutonium from spent fuel rods. North Korea joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1985. In 1994, North Korea agreed to freeze its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon under an energy deal with the United States. Those facilities are the focus of the new crisis. Only four other countries -- Cuba, India, Israel and Pakistan -- are not signatories, though Cuba is a member of a treaty establishing a nuclear-free zone in Latin America. ===