S. Korea Now Free of Nuclear Arms, Roh Says

President Roh Tae Woo, appealing for a new era of peace and prosperity after 40 years of hostility, Wednesday declared South Korea free of nuclear weapons and urged North Korea to renounce its nuclear arms program.

“As I speak, there do not exist any nuclear weapons whatsoever anywhere in the Republic of Korea,” Roh said in a televised speech. His declaration confirmed that the United States had withdrawn all nuclear weapons from South Korea.

The United States, which has traditionally refused to confirm or deny the presence of its nuclear weapons anywhere in the world, welcomed Roh’s statement.

“We have supported President Roh’s call earlier for a non-nuclear peninsula, and we’re prepared to cooperate with his plan for mutual inspections,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Roh put the onus on North Korea, whose nuclear plans have been described as the gravest regional security threat, to follow suit.

Roh said there is “no reason or excuse” for the north to develop nuclear arms or refuse inspections of its facilities, now that the south had declared itself nuclear-free.

The north, which maintains that its nuclear plants are for peaceful purposes, has said it would allow inspections if Washington began withdrawing its nuclear arms from the south.

Roh promised that South Korea will implement a nonaggression accord signed with the north last week. He stressed that the nuclear issue must be resolved as soon as possible to ensure peace on the peninsula, divided since 1945.

Seoul and its allies believe that North Korea’s nuclear project, centered at Yongbyon north of Pyongyang, is close to building a bomb.

Roh said that Seoul and the United States will open U.S. bases in the south to international inspection, in what he called “a truly exceptional precedent” for Washington.

There was no immediate reaction from the north.