Arms Deal

Pyongyang's recent pledge to give up its nuclear weapons program was a giant step, but it is now time to implement the agreement, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said before arriving in North Korea for three days of negotiations. Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said he would push for specifics on how Pyongyang planned to dismantle its arms program and a commitment to allow outside verification. He spoke during a refueling stop at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo.

The Obama administration informed Congress last month that it would proceed with the upgrade of Taiwan's fleet of 145 F-16 jet aircraft. The decision is controversial. China firmly opposes any U.S. effort to assist Taiwan militarily. Although Taiwan expressed gratitude for the decision, it had sought 66 new F-16s in the more advanced C/D models (it now has the A/B models). Taiwan's friends in Congress and defense contractors had argued for the C/Ds. Taipei's disappointment belies the fact that this decision constitutes a real contribution to Taiwan's security and underscores the U.S. commitment to Taiwan.

A Peruvian congressional committee accused the new armed forces chief of involvement in an irregular arms deal. In a final report after a seven-month investigation, the panel accused Gen. Miguel Medina of falsifying information about the 1996 purchase of Russian MIG-29 jets. Irregularities in the purchase generated an $80-million kickback, the report said. Medina allegedly said the jets were newer than they were.

The Obama administration formally notified Congress on Wednesday of plans to sell Saudi Arabia as much as $60 billion worth of arms in a deal aimed at bolstering regional defenses against an ascendant Iran. The agreement, which will stretch out as long as 20 years, would be the largest U.S. arms sale ever, if Saudi Arabia buys all that has been authorized. It would make the kingdom's aging jet fighter fleet among the most capable in the world, without adding so much long-distance attack capability as to worry Israle that the weapons could be used against it. Israeli officials have not objected to the sale.

U.S. and Russian negotiators are working "under pressure" to solve their differences and make a nuclear arms deal ready by a presidential summit in May, but they remain at odds over Russian cooperation with Iran, a U.S. diplomat said. U.S. and Russian negotiators face "a number of difficult issues, questions of how exactly to account for the offensive strategic warheads, measures of transparency, verification," U.S. Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton said after two days of talks in Moscow.

Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono will seal a controversial arms sale to Venezuela despite U.S. opposition, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said. Bono will attend next week's signing in Caracas of an agreement to supply military aircraft and patrol boats to the South American country, she said. The U.S. ambassador to Spain said this week that Washington was still considering whether to allow the sale because the military goods contain U.S. technology.

Jayne Ikard, a long-time Washington socialite and town observer, knew the Iranian arms deal had completely consumed the town when the gossip about it seeped into the city's one apolitical zone, the weight-lifting room at the YMCA. "You go there to do your quiet pumping of iron, and the next thing you know, these people who are into physical fitness and very me-oriented pause around the equipment and discuss the situation at the White House," said Ikard. "That is very unusual."

President Reagan today tried to quiet reports of a deal with Iran for the release of American hostages in Lebanon, saying disclosures of the contacts between Tehran and Washington "are making it more difficult for us" to win the release of the three Americans still held captive.

The retired Israeli general arrested for allegedly conspiring to sell $2 billion in American weapons to Iran said Wednesday that Israel's defense establishment knew of his actions, and he threatened to cooperate with U.S. authorities unless his country intercedes. Israel has denied any "connection or involvement in the matter." Meanwhile, a U.S. official said the general, Avraham Bar-Am, was the No.

President Reagan spent more than an hour Monday with the three-member investigative commission he appointed in the wake of the disclosure of the Iran- contra arms affair, reviewing his role in the operation, the growth of his Administration's policy toward Iran and U.S. foreign policy in general, the White House said.

Not surprisingly, China is responding badly to the Pentagon's $6-billion arms sale to Taiwan. The Beijing government has suspended security exchanges with the Pentagon and promised to sanction American defense companies. Chinese scholars and other commentators see nefarious motives in the U.S. action and warn of negative consequences. Some call for tough retaliation. High dudgeon is in season. In Washington, some worry that Beijing will withdraw its cooperation on matters of real importance to the United States, such as Iran and North Korea.

Convicted of profiting from illicit arms sales to Angola, a former French interior minister is roiling the political establishment by accusing other officials of knowing about the deal and demanding that the government open secret files to prove him right. Charles Pasqua, the former minister who now is a member of France's Senate, and Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, son of a former president, were among 36 people found guilty Tuesday of knowingly profiting from or facilitating the unauthorized $790-million sale in the 1990s.

First the stipulation that "Black Money," a "Frontline" look at international bribery, is first-class journalism: high-minded, fact-filled and balanced, with some eye-catching visuals. How could it be anything but stellar given the presence of correspondent Lowell Bergman, one of the top investigative journalists in the nation, if not the world?

Taiwan's president welcomed a U.S. decision to sell the island up to $6.5 billion in advanced weaponry, while China warned that the move would damage relations between Beijing and Washington. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei summoned U.S. diplomatic representatives to make a strong protest, according to a statement on the Foreign Ministry's website. The White House announced the package, which includes Apache helicopters and Patriot III missiles, in a notification to Congress on Friday.

Poland and the United States struck a deal Thursday that will strengthen military ties and put an American missile interceptor base in Poland, a plan that has infuriated Moscow and sparked fears in Europe of a new arms race. Washington says the planned system, which is not yet operational, is needed to protect the U.S. and Europe from possible attacks by missile-armed "rogue states," such as Iran.

The Bush administration will announce next week a series of arms deals worth at least $20 billion to Saudi Arabia and five other oil-rich Persian Gulf states, as well as new 10-year military aid packages to Israel and Egypt, a move to shore up allies in the Middle East and counter Iran's rising influence, U.S. officials said Friday. The military assistance agreements would provide $30 billion in new U.S. aid to Israel and $13 billion to Egypt over 10 years, the officials said.

The Swedish company A. B. Bofors and unidentified officials in the government of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi were charged in New Delhi with bribery in connection with a $1.4-billion arms deal made in 1986. Bofors is accused of paying $50 million in kickbacks to win the contract.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said today that arms sales to Iran were America's idea and that Israel became involved only at Washington's request. His comment to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who was visiting Israel, was in line with an effort begun this week to dispel any impression that Israel initiated the operation, which has caused the most severe crisis of the Reagan Administration. President Reagan has said the arms deal was initiated by "a third country."

Britain and the United States signed a treaty to cut red tape on arms deals and improve compatibility of military equipment. The agreement was approved by President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a videoconference call on the day Blair held his last Cabinet meeting, less than a week before he leaves office. The treaty, subject to approval by the U.S. Senate, would allow the nations' armed forces to more easily share technology, information and expertise, Blair's office said.

The Bush administration is punishing nine foreign companies, six of them in China, for selling missile goods and chemical arms material to Iran. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the sanctions were based on "credible evidence," which he did not disclose. Two of the companies are Indian and the other is Austrian. Ereli said the United States will not provide export licenses to the companies for doing business in the United States and will ban U.S. government purchases from the