Speaking as he began a four-day trip to Japan, China and South Korea, Powell stressed the US desire for a multilateral push to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions despite its regional allies' preference that Washington try to resolve the issue in direct, bilateral talks with Pyongyang.

Powell told reporters the United States could revive its "bold approach" of considering an array of assistance to North Korea, but the nuclear issue had to be settled first.

"It's not out of the realm of the possible and it's not out of consideration but we have to get these matters resolved and behind us with respect to their proliferating actions, with respect to their nuclear weapons development program and also with respect to the size of their military," he said.

Powell said he was likely to announce on his trip that the United States will provide fresh food assistance to North Korea, stressing the US position that it does not use such aide as a political tool and that it has not offered any since December because it lacked budget authority from Congress

The United States has sought without much visible success to persuade regional powers to pressure North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program.

North Korea wants a non-aggression pact with the United States and bilateral talks, something others in the region, particularly China and South Korea, favor but that Washington has resisted, pushing instead for a multilateral process.

"We recognize that everybody in the region ... (hopes) a way will be found for there to be direct US-DPRK dialogue," Powell said, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"We have said we are looking for a multilateral forum in which to start dialogue, and then lots of things can happen from there," he added. "If more nations in the region and the international community were involved, then the obligations on North Korea would be stronger and the consequences of failure to perform or abide by (them) would be greater."

Washington Rejects 'Blackmail'

US officials say they will not be blackmailed, pointing to the 1994 Agreed Framework under which North Korea promised to freeze its nuclear weapons program in exchange for fuel oil and two Western-financed nuclear reactors as an example of Pyongyang wresting concessions through "bad behavior."

The latest crisis began in October, when US officials said North Korea admitted to pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program in violation of its international commitments.

It has since escalated as Pyongyang expelled International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, said it would pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and threatened to resume missile testing and abandon the 1953 Korean War armistice.

Powell arrives in Tokyo on Saturday for meetings with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and other top officials before heading to Beijing on Sunday.

There he is expected to meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan.

He wraps up his journey in Seoul to attend the inauguration of South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun.

The trip will also cover the US push for a possible war against Iraq, which China has resisted, arguing that UN weapons inspectors should have more time to search for Baghdad's suspected weapons of mass destruction.

The United States has pursued markedly different strategies toward Iraq and North Korea, arguing that force may be needed to end suspected Iraqi chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs, while seeking a diplomatic solution with Pyongyang.

(China Daily February 23, 2003)