U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services, made the following statement in reaction to the disclosure by North Korea that it has a secret nuclear weapons program:

"North Korea's recent acknowledgment that it has an on-going nuclear weapons program is deeply disturbing. In the 1994 Agreed Framework, both the United States and North Korea committed themselves not to nuclearize the Korean peninsula and North Korea was required to 'consistently take steps' to implement the 1991 North-South Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"It is equally troubling that, according to press reports, China, Russia, and Pakistan were major suppliers to the North Korean program and that Pakistan in particular may have supplied critical gas centrifuges essential for uranium enrichment in return for North Korean missiles. The 'axis of evil' which President Bush refers to as consisting of North Korea, Iran, and Iraq apparently has many spokes. Pakistan's reported involvement at the center of this proliferation is extraordinarily worrying. The complexity of this problem suggests that we need a much more sophisticated response to proliferation than has been so far demonstrated by the Administration. More effective export controls and cooperation from our friends and allies are obviously essential.

"I welcome statements by senior officials in the Bush Administration that they are seeking a diplomatic solution to the current crisis with North Korea. As I indicated during the debate on the resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, before any use of force, I believe that all possible means must be exhausted short of war to enforce United Nations resolutions concerning Iraq and, second, that we should act with support from our allies. In regard to the present situation with North Korea, I believe we must first exhaust all diplomatic measures to bring North Korea in compliance with its Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty obligations and that we should ensure that we have the support of our allies in the region and in the Korean Energy Development Organization (KEDO) which implements the Agreed Framework. That appears to be the current policy of the Administration and I wish it success in its efforts.

"However, I am concerned that the Administration has been less than forthcoming on this issue with the Congress. Apparently, the Administration came to the conclusion last summer that North Korea had an active nuclear weapons program, briefed our Japanese allies about it in September, raised it with the North Koreans in early October and then waited an additional twelve days to raise it more widely with the Congress after the vote on war with Iraq and then only after reports had leaked in the press. As Chairman of the International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services Subcommittee of the Governmental Affairs Committee, I intend to hold hearings on this proliferation issue in November."