美國國務卿萊斯在飛往東京途中接受隨行媒體訪問時表示，她這次亞洲行有多重目的，其中第一個，也是最主要目的是，就是要向盟邦重申美國對它們的安全承諾。

　　萊斯這次的亞洲之行，將訪問日本、南韓和中國，隨後訪問俄羅斯。這四國都是朝鮮半島非核化六方會談的成員。

　　萊斯說，當一個地區的威脅環境發生變化的時候，美國必須趕快向它的盟邦重申對它們的承諾，包括嚇阻威脅的承諾。她說，所幸過去幾年來，美國已經協助日本和南韓，進行面對21世紀威脅的國防現代化工程，盟邦的防衛能力目前都處在很好的狀況。

　　萊斯說，她此行的第二個目的是，強化安理會第1,718號制裁北韓決議案的成果，告訴地區所有相關國家，執行這項決議案是一項義務，包括檢查進出北韓的船隻。萊斯強調，美國無意擴大地區危機，但必須讓北韓知道國際已經一致發聲，無法接受北韓發展核武。

　　此行的第三個目的是與地區國家討論防衛措施，例如與日本的飛彈防禦系統、與地區國家的情報交換和合作、以及防止擴散安全倡議(Proliferation Security Initiative)的執行等，以防範北韓可能的威脅行動。

　　第四個目的是，與東亞地區國家初步討論有關核子不擴散條約，包括協助不發展核子武器國家發展核能發電。萊斯強調，北韓不理會國際壓力，執意進行核子試爆，顯示核子不擴散條約已經有弱化的跡象，必須予以加強。

　　萊斯說，她此行的最後一個目的，是維持談判之路暢通，希望能透過各種方式，扭轉北韓發展核武的方向。

      http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/74667.htm

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
En Route Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
October 17, 2006

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I had an opportunity to speak to you yesterday and you had an opportunity to ask questions, but just let me recap that the purpose of this trip is really several-fold.

First of all, I'm starting in Tokyo and then in Seoul and then with a trilateral with the Japanese and the South Koreans because when something like this happens in the international system, when there is a change in the threat environment, which I think you can certainly consider the North Korean test to be, it's first and foremost important to go and talk with your allies, to reaffirm alliance commitments. The President has reaffirmed the full range of our commitments, including our deterrent commitments to Japan and South Korea.

We have, fortunately, spent a good deal of time over the last several years since the President has been in office in modernizing these alliances, in making certain that they are ready for 21st century threats. You may know that Don Rumsfeld has done a lot of work with this. I've done a lot of work with our counterparts. We have a new set of defense understandings with Japan, for instance. And so the alliances are in very good shape, but it's first and foremost important to reaffirm our alliance commitments and to talk about how the alliance will carry out those commitments.

Secondly, it is important to go out and to consolidate the gains of Resolution 1718, to talk with all of the parties in the region about how we will carry out our obligations under 1718. There are obligations for sanctions on North Korea. There are also obligations to inspect certain cargoes. It is extremely important to recognize that this is a set of obligations under 1718 that I think all states are determined to carry out.

I want to be very clear that we have no desire to see this crisis escalate. In fact, it is our goal to see a de-escalation of this despite North Korea's actions. But North Korea now needs to understand that the international community has spoken, the international community has said that it is unacceptable for North Korea to have a nuclear program, that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains the goal of the international community; and so enforcing 1718 so that the North understands that it has no other option but to return to negotiations is extremely important.

Third, there are some defensive measures that we want to discuss with states in the region. For instance, you know that we have a Proliferation Security Initiative. We also have discussions going on with, for instance, the Japanese about missile defense, about what we might do in terms of intelligence sharing and cooperation. Because obviously while we are working to reverse what North Korea has done, we also have to take steps to guard against the potential threats, the potential outcomes, of the North Korean behavior, and so stepping up defensive measures is going to be very important.

Fourth, I think we want to have some preliminary discussions about the nonproliferation regime itself. It is under strain. It's not broken. The President has had some very important ideas about how to provide civil nuclear energy to states without proliferation risk of the kind that we have offered to the Iranians, and I think we will want to talk some about the nonproliferation regime because everybody is very concerned that with the North Korean events and with Iran's refusal to take the deal that has been put before it that there are weaknesses in the international -- the nonproliferation regime that need to be shored up.

Finally, I want to assure everybody that we want to leave a path open to a negotiated solution, a reversal of the North Korean program, because our goal in all of this, whether it's the resolution or the measures that we might take, is to reverse the North Korean program and to have the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

So those are really the goals of this trip. This first stop in Japan will focus heavily on alliance relations and on implementation of 1718, as will the next stop in Seoul. And we can talk more about Beijing as we get closer.

      http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/74047.htm
Secretary Condoleezza Rice
State Department Press Briefing Room
Washington, DC
October 16, 2006

SECRETARY RICE: Good afternoon. The world has responded calmly and firmly to North Korea's latest efforts to subvert the attention of the international system through destructive and dangerous behavior. On Saturday, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1718. It imposed unprecedented sanctions on the Government of North Korea and it requires every nation in the world to uphold them.

Tomorrow, I leave on travel to Japan, China, the Republic of Korea and Russia. At each of these stops I will advance our diplomatic efforts to implement Resolution 1718, to address common threats to peace and stability, and to thwart the ambitions of states that illicitly seek to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The purpose of my trip is to rally the support of our friends and allies in Northeast Asia for our comprehensive strategy.

First, we must strengthen our strategic relationships in the region. As President Bush has made clear, the United States has both the will and capability to meet the full range of our security and deterrent commitments to allies like South Korea and Japan. This trip is an opportunity to reaffirm our reciprocal obligations. For the major powers of Northeast Asia, North Korea's behavior has clarified the strategic interests that we share. To advance these common interests, every country in the region must share the burdens as well as the benefits of our common security.

Second, as North Korea scorns the international community, we will collectively isolate North Korea from the benefits of participation in that community. North Korea cannot endanger the world and then expect other nations to conduct business as usual in arms or missile parts. It cannot destabilize the international system and then expect to exploit elaborate financial networks built for peaceful commerce. Resolution 1718 points the way. We expect every member of the international community to fully implement all aspects of this resolution and we expect the Security Council to aggressively monitor the process.

Third, we and our partners must expand defensive measures to counter North Korea's full array of illicit and proliferation activities. Resolution 1718 has set a new international standard, requiring states to ensure that North Korea neither imports nor exports proliferation-sensitive materials. To this end, the United States will continue to expand cooperation among nations through the Proliferation Security Initiative, and together we will work to prevent and disrupt the global traffic in weapons of mass destruction and related materials. As President Bush said last week, the transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to any state or non-state entity would be considered a grave threat to the United States and we would hold North Korea accountable for the consequences of such an action. This week, I will discuss with nations in the region how to design a practical architecture for detecting and screening for such dangerous materials.

Fourth, we must ensure the continued vitality of the global regime to prevent and counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The nonproliferation regime is under strain but it is not broken, and the United States is working to preserve and renew this vital pillar of international security. The greatest challenge to the nonproliferation regime comes from countries that violate their pledges to respect the Nonproliferation Treaty. The North Korean regime is one such case, but also so is Iran. The Iranian Government is watching and it can now see that the international community will respond to threats from nuclear proliferation. I expect the Security Council to begin work this week on an Iran sanctions resolution so the Iranian Government should consider the course that it is on, which could lead simply to further isolation.

Finally, we must remind North Korea that a positive path remains open to it through the six-party talks. Thus far, North Korea has chosen the path of confrontation and all that that entails: deepening isolation, a failing economy and few opportunities for its oppressed peoples. With Resolution 1718, the world is sending a clear message to the North Koreans that they must make a new set of calculations about the costs of the current pattern of behavior. North Korea must honor its own agreements, its 1991 joint pledge of denuclearization with South Korea and its September 2005 pledge to denuclearize in the six-party process. To those responsibilities we must now add full compliance with UN Resolution 1718. If North Korea reverses course and embraces the path of cooperation, if it makes the strategic choice to dismantle its nuclear weapons completely, verifiably and irreversibly, an entirely new and better future would be open to it and to its people.