National News
Richardson Makes Progress With North Korea
By Associated Press
Jan 13, 2003, 10:19

SANTA FE, N.M. -- A North Korean deputy ambassador says his nation has no
intention of building nuclear weapons, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said
Saturday as he concluded three days of talks with envoys from the communist
country.

"We discussed issues very frankly, but in a positive atmosphere,"
Richardson said.

He said North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Han Song
Ryol, said during the talks that "North Korea has no intentions of building
nuclear weapons."

In a brief statement to the media, Han said Richardson is "a top
negotiator."

Richardson said he briefed Secretary of State Colin Powell on the nine
hours of talks that stretched over three days, but again insisted he's not
an agent of the Bush administration.

North Korea on Saturday called for a "holy war against the United States"
and declared it was ready to resume missile tests and may start reprocessing
spent fuel rods from its nuclear reactor to make atomic bombs.

One day after the communist North announced it was quitting an anti-
nuclear pact, government leaders staged a rally in Pyongyang to declare they
would seek "revenge with blood" toward any country that violates their
sovereignty.

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