N. Korea calls 'comprehensive package' of U.S. incentives 'nonsense'

By Lee Chi-dong
PHUKET, Thailand, July 23 (Yonhap) -- A senior North Korean diplomat on Thursday
dismissed a U.S.-proposed "comprehensive package" of political and economic
incentives for Pyongyang as "nonsense."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a visit here to attend the ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF), said Wednesday that Washington is willing to provide the
package, including the normalization of diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, if
the communist nation moves towards "complete and irreversible" denuclearization.
"The comprehensive package is nonsense," Ri Hung-sik, director-general of the
North Korean foreign ministry's international organization bureau. Ri is a member
of the North's delegation to the ARF.
"It is just a replay of the Bush administration's policy of CVID (complete,
verifiable, irreversible dismantlement)," Ri told reporters.
He also charged that the current standoff between Pyongyang and Washington stems
from Washington's "deep-rooted hostile policy" against Pyongyang.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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