(News Focus) Thai seizure of N. Korean arms reflects two-track U.S. strategy

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- The interception of a cargo vessel carrying North
Korean weapons by Thai authorities, reportedly in cooperation with the U.S.,
raises questions over the recently-resumed dialogue between Pyongyang and
Washington that is key to restarting dormant six-way nuclear talks.
While North Korea has long engaged in weapons sales as a means of obtaining
foreign currency, the seizure at Bangkok's domestic Don Muang military airport on
Saturday morning comes on the heels of the first talks between Pyongyang and
Washington since U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January.
The two sides exchanged positive views on the results of the three-day trip by
Obama's special envoy to North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, hinting at additional
contact and even a possible resumption of the six-party talks. They acknowledged
that differences had been narrowed through the dialogue, though details of what
Bosworth discussed with the North's Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju remain
secret.
The arrest of the cargo ship and its crew, however, shows that the secretive
communist nation is engaging in dialogue with the U.S. on the one hand while
continuing with its illicit arms trade on the other, in violation of U.N.
resolutions banning Pyongyang from arms sales.
Resolution 1874, adopted after the North's second nuclear test in May, calls on
U.N. member states to "inspect and destroy" certain categories of weapons bound
to or from the nation including large-caliber artillery, missile and related
parts.
The seized shipment, weighing some 35 tons, included anti-aircraft missile
launchers, rocket-propelled grenades and other war weapons.
Officials and experts in the U.S. say that despite its pursuit of bilateral talks
as part of efforts to denuclearize North Korea, the case demonstrates
Washington's intention to maintain a "two-track approach" toward Pyongyang.
Long before Bosworth's visit to the North last week, U.S. officials had
endeavored to assure the international community that it would break the vicious
cycle of Pyongyang getting away with provocative actions by simply promising to
return to the bargaining table.
South Korean officials noted a number of media reports based on Thai military
officials' comments that the U.S. had informed the Thai government of the
shipment under the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) designed to curb
unauthorized weapons trade.
"This case, an explicit violation of the U.N. resolution, will serve as a chance
to show that apart from dialogue, sanctions will continue for North Korea's bad
behavior," a South Korean foreign ministry official said, requesting anonymity.
Kim Yeon-soo, professor at Korea National Defense University, also said that the
Obama administration is sending a clear message that the North's return to
dialogue will not automatically lead to an easing of sanctions unlike during the
former Bush administration.
"The U.S. has employed a two-track strategy (on North Korea) of sanctions and
negotiations. With regard to this case, accordingly, the U.S. will impose
sanctions on North Korea through the U.N.," he said.
In October 2006, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1718 against North
Korea for its first nuclear experiment.
The resolution was not fully implemented, however, as the North rejoined the
six-party talks in December. The U.S. even lifted a freeze on North Korea's
overseas assets worth about US$25 million to coax it back to the negotiations.
South Korean nuclear negotiators have emphasized that Seoul's Lee Myung-bak
government and its American counterpart will not reward the North for "small
steps," such as returning to talks as Seoul and Washington seek the so-called
"grand bargain" aimed at immediately addressing the core parts of the North's
nuclear program.
With the North still silent about the Thai seizure, experts here say its impact on
the burgeoning possibility of a resumption of the six-party talks depends on how
Pyongyang responds to the incident.
Analysts say North Korea is unlikely to overreact as it apparently hopes to seize
the opportunity for direct talks with the Obama administration.
"North Korea has gone its own way, including the export of weapons, but
regardless of this the North Korea-U.S. dialogue will continue," said Cheon
Seong-whun, a senior researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National
Unification.
The seizure, which again proves the international community's close partnership
in its fight against the North's arms trade, may help prompt the North back to
the six-way talks, he added.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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