Roh urges stronger ties with U.S.

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's president on Tuesday called for a stronger alliance with the United States, a day after North Korea test-fired a cruise missile into the Sea of Japan.

Roh Moo-hyun's comments also came after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said last week that he wants U.S. troops stationed near the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea to be moved farther away from the zone, shifted to other countries or brought home.

"The staunch Korea-U.S. combined defense arrangement is greatly contributing to our national security," Roh said in a speech at the Korean Military Academy. "The solid (South Korea)-U.S. alliance should be maintained even more so."

Roh urged South Koreans not to worry about the redeployment plan, calling it "nothing new at all." He said the two allies will consult closely with each other on reconfiguring U.S. military presence.

Roh's election campaign appealed to anti-American feeling, and he has said he is willing to voice policy differences with the United States, but America remains his country's chief ally.

Roh wants the United States to open talks with North Korea as soon as possible and has said he would oppose any U.S. plan to attack the North's nuclear facilities.

Tensions over North Korea's nuclear programs intensified Monday when the isolated communist country test-fired a second cruise missile off its east coast in two weeks.

Roh repeated his emphasis on the importance of resolving the nuclear dispute through dialogue.

"Without peace, everything we do will be like building a castle in the sand," Roh said. "We cannot hope to dream about prosperity in a land of Cold War and tension."

Meanwhile, North Korea criticized Washington's refusal to hold direct talks with the communist regime.

North Korea has repeatedly said it wants to talk only with the United States. But Washington prefers to settle the dispute through a multilateral channel, saying that North Korea's nuclear programs threaten not just American interests but also those of Russia, China, Japan and South Korea.

Separately, the U.N. children's agency, warning that its clinics in North Korea will run out of medicines next month, asked countries to set aside any unease about helping the North during its nuclear crisis.

UNICEF has received less than $500,000 of the $12 million it needs this year to buy medicines, high-energy milk and other supplies for 2.5 million North Korean children, said Mehr Khan, its Asia-Pacific director. She said more than half of that came from Norway, while many other previous donors have given nothing.

Without new donations, UNICEF clinics will run out of medicine next month and other supplies in coming months, Khan said.

"Unless urgent assistance is provided, we could see malnutrition rates go up," Khan said at a news conference after returning from a weeklong visit to the North.

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