
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994                    TAG: 9406160472 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940616                                 LENGTH: NORFOLK

PERRY SEES OPTIONS TO CONFRONTATION IN KOREA

{LEAD} Defense Secretary William J. Perry says the United States is not provoking a fight in North Korea and believes there are alternatives to confrontation in dealing with that nation's nuclear threat.

``There is no reason why there should be any confrontation . . .,'' Perry said Wednesday during a visit to Norfolk. ``All we are seeking is for North Korea to comply with agreements they have already made with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nothing more than that.''

{REST} The United States and South Korea are maintaining a high state of military readiness, increasing the level of forces, even as diplomatic pressure continues, Perry said.

``We are doing nothing to provoke a confrontation. However, on the other hand, we want to be fully ready for anything that might develop, and we will be.''

Perry was in Norfolk escorting Vitaliy Radetsky, the Ukrainian general of the army, on a tour of American military facilities as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's ``Partners for Peace'' initiative. Ukraine, as a former member of the Soviet Union, has signed the pact.

Radetsky, who serves as minister of defense, was repaying a visit Perry made to his state in March. The former Soviet general was given a SEAL team demonstration, a ride in a Navy air-cushioned landing craft through the Chesapeake Bay and a tour of the 2nd Fleet Command ship Mount Whitney.

He also was briefed by Adm. Paul David Miller, commander of the U.S. Atlantic Command and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. Today he will be taken aboard the carrier Theodore Roosevelt.

American and Ukrainian armies and navies are preparing joint training exercises for the future, Radetsky said. The United States also is advising the Ukrainian military on how America is cutting its military forces in the wake of the Cold War.

Perry and Radetsky also discussed the rift between Russia and the Ukraine over the Black Sea Fleet, based in the Ukraine. Russia claims some interest in the fleet because it was a major component of the former Soviet navy.

``Dr. Perry fully understands what is happening on the Crimean Peninsula, and he has expressed a desire to help us in any way that he can,'' Radetsky said.

Radetsky said Perry surprised him with a demonstration of a new telephone link between the general military staffs of the two nations. The link opens the door for more meetings of the two nations' militaries, he said.

by CNB