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Show oe The Salt Lake Tribune WORLD Putin Won’t Pressure North Korea on Nukes President’s visit seen by someas ‘Russian retaliation’ againstU.S.for failed arms agreements THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MOSCOW — President Viadimir Putin won't try to: persuade North Korea to dropits missile program during an upcoming state_visit, despiteU.S. concerns that the isolated communist country is a growing threat to world peace, Russia’s foreign minister said Friday. The Kremlin announced that Putin will visit North Korea shortly, but did not give a date. Thevisit would be the first by a Russian leader to North Korea, and comes at a time when Moscow and Washington disagree overits pos- sible threat. The United States is considering building a limited anti-missile defense system against “rogue states” such as North Korea, a proposal strongly pet by Russia, which sees the U.S. plan as a threat to its own oe forces. Putin’s visit to Pyongyang could further strain ties with Washington. “President Putin is coming ona visit to a friendly country and he does notintendto talk anybody out of anything,” Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said when asked if the Russian leader would urge North Korea to curb its missile program. He added that Russia wants to help promote ‘stability on the divided ‘orean peninsula. Putin’s foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodkosaid the visit would te before the meeting ofthe G-8 in- missile defense. His impending visit to North Korea was notdiscussed, a White House official said. By making thevisit, Putin aims both to undermine the United States and expand Russia’s influence in foreign affairs, analysts “That would deprive the United States of its key argumentiin favor said. Restoring some’of Moscow’s global clout is among Putin’s top es. Moscow was a key backer of as vulnerable as the United States goals. “To a certain extent, it's an anti-American move — a Russian retaliationfor the U.S. dismissal of to rogue missile attacks, Ivanov said “we proceed from the view Putin’s proposal to jointly build anti-missile systems,” said Yevg- lustrialized nations in Japan on July 21-23, Although Russia is potentially that currently, there is norealistic threat.” “In terms ofthe future, naturalNi:ee can be excluded,” he es Friday, North Korea accused the United States of using “fictitious” threats to justify its missile defense plan. “The U.S. employs the trite method of sacrificing small countries to please big countries, butit is gravely mistakenifit thinks that will work on [North Korea],” the North’s Foreign Ministry said. Putin called Clinton on Friday to discuss several issues, incltiiding said Sergei Markov, directorof the Institute of Political Studies. ofanti-missile defense,”he said. Moscow has been trying to re- vive someofits Soviet-era alliancNorth Korea during the Cold War, but relations fell apart after the Soviet collapse. North Korea has been taking small steps toward endingits isolation. The announcement ofPutin’s trip came just before North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was to meet for the first time with the president of South Korea, Presi- eny Volk, an analyst at the Heritage Foundation in Moscow. Although Ivanov said Putin wouldn’t try to dissuade North Korea from its missile program, dent Kim Dae-jung. “Russia is trying to return to some analysts suggested Moscow areas where it was traditionally may be seeking a compromise such as putting the Korean missile force under international present, which puts it on a collision course with the United States,” said Ivan Safranchuk, a world affairs analyst at the PIR- supervision. “Putin may try to reach an agreementthat would place North Korean missiles under international control in exchange forfinancial assistance — a deal similar to that reached before on a North Korean nuclear program,” Centerindependentthink-tank. Ivanovsaid the Russian leader was also considering an invitation from South Korea,butnoted thatit was “too early” to speak of anythingdefinite. U.S., NATO Say Moscow Defense Proposal Is Short on Details ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: BRUSSELS, Belgium — Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev presented the NATO allies Friday with Moscow’s proposal for a joint European anti-missile defense system. The Americans saidit didn’t appear to be anything that would provide protection for the United States. U.S. Secretary ofDefense William Cohen and NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said the Russian plan was still short on details. “As far as | can determine,it’s an idea based on a theater missile defense system, something ofintermediate or shorter-range capability,so it is not a system that could provide protection to the United States, or to much ofEurope,” Cohen. said after a meeting of the NATO-Russia Joint Permanent Council. “So at this pointit’s an idea that does not appear to be feasible or desirable for protecting us er the kindof threats that are emerging,” hesaid. The ‘allies seemed anxious notto reject the Russian proposal out of hand, but nobody seemed ready to take more than a wait-and-see attitude. “We're not ina position to evaluate the points madethis morning,” Robertson said. The Russian defense minister, speaking at a newsconference with Robertson, avoided questions seeking details of the plan, put forward a few days ago by President Vladimir Putin. He said only that the plan would not breachthe 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missiletreaty. ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS US Secretary ofDefense Ss Russia and some of the NATO allies oppose the United States’ plan te deploy a limited antimissile defense system, aimed at shooting down tinue to explore ways to meetthe security needs long-range missiles launched by what Washingten calls “roguestates.” Until Friday, the allies hadlittle idea what the Russian proposal contained. ButU.S.officials said no matter what the plan involves,it would not be a replacementfor the U.S.plan. ofRussia, Europe andthe United States. A final test of the U.S. system — a small numberofinterceptors that would shoot down incomingmissiles — is scheduled for early July. President Clinton is to decide in the autumn whether to begin deployment. Farmers to Be Paid for Contaminated Crops BRUSSELS, Belgium — European farmers who had to destroy rapeseed crops contaminated by genetically modified,seed will be fully reimbursed, the European Commission said Friday. It was discovered last month that hundreds of acres of arable land in several EU nations, William Cohen Cohen said if the Russians were talking abouta theater missile system, that meansthe missiles would be limited to a range of 2,200 miles, which wouldnotbe sufficient to protect the United States and much ofEurope. Cohensaid the allies were prepared to con- system. including France, Belgium, Britain, Sweden and Finland, were contaminated after genetically modified. seeds were ew mixed with regular colza seeds. Rapeseed oil is marketed in the United§States as canola oil. Thegenetically modified strain has rendered the crops unmarketable because such foodstuffs cannotbe sold to the public. HARDWOGDFLOORS in Pentagon Admits Using Simpler Decoys for Anti-Missile Tests ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — The Pentagon admitted Friday thatit used simpler decoys in recent flight tests ofan anti-missile interceptor, but it denied allegations that the switch amounted to dishonest manipulation to hidea fatal flaw. Thefirst two interceptor flight tests, in 1997 and 1998, used more complex and challenging decoys because the Pentagon was testing competing designsof interceptors built by Boeing Co. and Raytheon. Corp., said Air Force Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, spokesman for the Pentagon’s Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.He said the intent was to stress the interceptors’ sensors as part of choosing the superior design. Starting with test flight No. 3, last October, simpler and fewer decoys were used because that marked thestart oftesting with the winning design, by Raytheon, and the plan has been gradually to in- unfairly impugned theintegrity of Pentagonofficials from Secretary of Defense William Cohen down. “T will categorically deny that we're fixing theflights, that we're lying, that we're cheating,” he fig Lehnersaid the Pentagon has made nosecret that the intercep- tor,at leastin its initial configuration, will be unable to defeat sophisticated missiles, with highly challenging decoys and other countermeasures, that Russia or China possesses. Instead it is designed to shoot down crude warheads, with relatively simple countermeasures, that might be launched in the coming decade by North Korea,Iraqor Iran. Gansler said a decision was made not to create a missile defense system more complex ahd costly than necessary. “We havea choice of spending more and more money on more and more complexity to address all crease thelevelofdifficulty. the [missile] threats that one could The October test hit the mock warhead, but the interceptor missed its target in the most recent talents to say, ‘Whatare thelikely hypothesize, vs. using our intelligence estimates and our technical United States would try to confuse threats that we're likely to see?... . Andcan wedefeat those?’ ” hesaid. The political debate in the United States over missile defense is heating up as President Clinton nears a decision — probably this autumn — on whetherto give the . Pentagon the go-ahead to deploy the interceptor with false targets the weapon system. test, in January. The next test’ is scheduled for early July, and more than a dozenothers are planned. Decoys are used in the testing because it is anticipated that any hostile nation that would fire a long-range ballistic missile at the “So at this pointit’s an idea that does not appearto befeasible or desirablefor protecting us against the kind ofthreats that are emerging.” “The proposal of the Russian president does not violate or compromise in any way the ABM treaty,” Sergeyevsaid. “These are proposals on the creationof a tactical ABM system.” The United States wants to amendthe treaty so that it can develop its own missile defense AS Saturday, June10, 2000 duringthe missile’s flight. Friday’s New York Times quoted Theodore Postol, an arms expert at the Massachusetts Insti- Opponents, including Postbl, have long argued thatdistinguish- tute of Technology, as saying the flight tests were rigged to hide the inability of the interceptor’s sensors to distinguish between enemy fense system. warheads and decoys. “Thatis blatantly untrue,” Lehner said Friday. ing between warheads and decoys is the Achilles heelof a missile deCritics assert that the Pentagon is rushing to deploy an unproven weapon. They have some support in that from an independentpanel, headed by retired Air Force Gen. Larry Welch, which reported to the Jacques Gansler, undersecre- Pentagon last November that. it tary of defense for acquisition and found “‘a legacy of overoptimism” about progress in developingreli- technology, said the Postol accusation amounted to slander and #1 Best Buy in Ue) CT CRY able interceptor technology. 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