ID :
66150
Wed, 06/17/2009 - 10:21
Auther :

(News Focus) S. Korea, U.S. try to turn table in dealing with

Pyongyang
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, June 16 (Yonhap) -- The leaders of South Korea and the United States
tried turning the table on North Korea, telling the communist nation Tuesday to
either choose peaceful coexistence or face further isolation and other serious
consequences.

The high-toned words came amid concerns over a possible third nuclear detonation
and long-range missile tests by the North.
"We are more than willing to engage in negotiations to get North Korea on a path
of peaceful coexistence with its neighbors, and we want to encourage their
prosperity," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a joint press conference with
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak after their summit talks.
"But belligerent, provocative behavior that threatens neighbors will be met with
significant, serious enforcement of sanctions that are in place," he said.
What seems close to an ultimatum for the impoverished North reflects the
exhaustive North Korean brinkmanship that in the past produced concessions from
the international community.
Shortly after Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear test on May 25, the South
Korean president said the North should not be engaged just for the sake of
negotiations, which would be a reward for bad behavior.
Obama agreed with the need to break what he and Lee called a "pattern" of
provocation followed by reward.
"The message we are sending -- and when I say "we," not simply the United States
and the Republic of Korea, but I think the international community -- is we are
going to break that pattern," he told the press conference.
The call, however, is widely expected to be met by further provocations from
North Korea, which last week said it will weaponize its plutonium and start
enriching uranium, a technology that can be used as an alternative to making
atomic weapons.
"North Koreans must understand that they will not be able to gain compensation by
provoking a crisis. This has been a pattern in the past, but this will no longer
be," President Lee said.
Lee and Obama warned the North against a provocative reaction, reaffirming the
U.S. provision of extended deterrence, including a nuclear umbrella, to South
Korea.
"We will maintain a robust defense posture, backed by allied capabilities which
support both nations' security interests. The continuing commitment of extended
deterrence, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, reinforces this assurance," the
leaders said in a joint statement, named "Joint Vision for the Alliance" of South
Korea and the United States.
Washington has provided nuclear protection to Seoul since the end of the 1950-53
Korean War and frequently reaffirmed its commitment to the joint defense of South
Korea. But this was the first time that the pledge was affirmed in a written
document signed by a U.S. president, South Korean officials emphasized.
"Extended deterrence is significant in that it will make North Korea realize its
possession of nuclear weapons will not lead to any gains, but that it could lead
to its collapse if it ever tries to use the weapons against the United States or
any of its allies," Kim Sung-han, a professor of international studies at Seoul's
Korea University, has told Yonhap News Agency in a recent interview.
South Korean officials acknowledged the strategy will require patience.
"Of course, it will take some time before North Korea changes its way of doing
this," an official said. "It has taken many years to build that pattern. It will
take several years to break that pattern."
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)


X