USIA - State Department Report (96-09-24)

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From: The United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at <gopher://gopher.usia.gov>

STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1996

(Armenia, Korea) (310)

ARMENIA -- The Organization for Security and Economic Cooperation (OSCE) has yet to issue its final report on the elections in Armenia, according to Davies. But he said the U.S. government has concerns regarding the reports of fraud and coercion surrounding the elections and expects to issue a statement this week.

KOREA -- Despite the September 17 incursion into South Korea of a North Korean submarine, the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) has not requested that the United States halt efforts to conduct four-way talks among the governments of South Korea, North Korea, China, and the United States, Davies said.

The Agreed Framework, under which North Korea froze its nuclear weapons program, has not been affected by the submarine incident either, according to Davies. When asked if the Clinton administration anticipates the U.S. Congress will balk at funding U.S. oil shipments to North Korea under the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) because of the North Korean incursion, Davies said: "We would hope that the Congress would continue to support the KEDO process, because it's very, very important. It's frozen North Korea's nuclear program.... It's one of the greatest nonproliferation gains of the recent period."

No decision has been made as to whether "Team Spirit" will be held next spring, Davies said. The once annual joint U.S.-ROK military exercises have not been held since 1993.

"I think this (submarine) incident is an important incident; one that's been the subject of consultations between the United States and South Korea," Davies said. "Whether that incident has an impact on a Team Spirit decision, it's too early to say. (No transcript of this briefing is available.)

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