Australia Says North Korea Must Address Nuclear Concerns

North Korea must agree to dismantle its nuclear program before expecting improvement in relations with Australia, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday (see GSN, April 5).

Australian Ambassador Alan Thomas visited Pyongyang Monday and emphasized to North Korean officials that his visit “was not a sign of relaxation in Australia’s approach,” according to the Sidney Morning Herald. He became ambassador to China in March 2003 but delayed formal initiation of his dual posting to Beijing and Pyongyang because of Australian anger at an alleged attempted smuggling of 120 kilograms of heroin into the country by a North Korean shipping vessel (Hamish McDonald, Sydney Morning Herald, April 7).

Thomas “stressed that further development of the bilateral relationship would depend on substantial progress by the D.P.R.K. on addressing Australia’s concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program,” Downer said in a statement (Associated Press, April 6).

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