Nota: allo stesso modo dovrebbe chiedere trasparenza negli USA sulla questione del riciclaggio di uranio. Di chi sono gli interessi dietro alle armi all'uranio impoverito? Perché non si fa niente di concreto per il disarmo nucleare DI TUTTI? La Albright è di origine Ceca, speriamo non rimanga ceca per sempre.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Wednesday that North Korea must remove lingering uncertainty about its nuclear weapons activities if efforts at accommodation with the United States are to succeed.

A 1994 U.S.-North Korean agreement was designed to freeze a suspected nuclear weapons program in Yongbyan but there are concerns Pyongyang may have stockpiled one or more such weapons beforehand.

Some experts believe North Korea had acquired sufficient materials in the pre-agreement period for one or two weapons while others doubt Pyongyang has any.

Albright, who arrived here Wednesday after two days in Pyongyang, told a news conference she raised the weapons issue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

"Obviously the nuclear issue has been one of central importance to us," Albright said, stressing the importance of full disclosure by the North Koreans.

"I made the point any number of times in my discussion with Chairman Kim whatever the subject that confidence building measures generally and transparency were absolutely essential if our relationship is to move forward," she said.

Albright came here to brief the South Korean Foreign Minister Joung Binn Lee and Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono on her talks in Pyongyang. Both welcomed her initiative and vowed to continue the close three-way coordination on the North Korea issue that they established last year.

On returning to Washington later in the week, Albright will report to President Clinton on her discussions. Clinton has said he will travel to North Korea next month if Albright's talks went well.

North Korea's development of missiles and its missile exports to the Middle East have been a key area of U.S. concern but outside experts said the nuclear issue should not be underestimated.

David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, says peace on the Korean Peninsula "can't be achieved without verified assurances that North Korea is free of nuclear weapons."

"A single nuclear weapon could cause tremendous havoc to Seoul," says Albright, no relation to the secretary of state.

As for North Korea's nuclear exports, a senior official aboard Secretary Albright's plane said Kim sees these sales as profitable but also recognizes he will never have a sound relationship with the United States as long as these sales continue. This could be detrimental to the economy over the long run, the official said.

"There are other ways to make millions of dollars," the official said.