ID :
31418
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 11:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/31418
The shortlink copeid
U.S. ambassador urges N. Korea to fulfill denuclearization pledge
By Kim Boram
SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. will not stop pressing North Korea to fulfill its pledge to denuclearize despite the upcoming change of administrations, the top U.S. envoy to Seoul said Thursday, reaffirming her country's own commitment to the process.
"The U.S. remains completely committed to fully realizing the September 2005
commitment that North Korea abandon all nuclear weapons and all existing nuclear
programs," said U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens in a speech given to retired
South Korean soldiers.
North Korea in 2005 agreed with South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan in
the six-party talks to give up its nuclear ambitions, but went ahead with its
first nuclear test a year after the agreement when negotiations faltered.
"I think we need to make very clear it (North Korea) can have the future or
nuclear weapons, but it really can't get both," she said. "I believe that it will
be the challenge of the next (U.S.) administration to make that clear to
Pyongyang."
Welcoming Seoul's participation in the recent U.N. resolution urging improvement
in North Korea's human rights conditions, the envoy said the allies have
cooperated well to "hasten the day when the people of North Korea will enjoy a
better human rights situation."
Seoul had mostly abstained from voting in such resolutions in an attempt to avoid
provoking the North.
Stephens also said that the incoming U.S. President Barack Obama knows the
importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, indicating that there will be no
significant changes to the close relations after the change of government in
Washington.
"As President-elect Obama expressed when he spoke to President Lee Myung-bak
weeks ago, our alliance is a cornerstone of a peace and stability in Asia," said
Washington's first female ambassador to Seoul. "President-elect Obama understands
the vital importance of the U.S.-Korea relationship."
She appreciated South Korea's troops deployment to Iraq and its role in the
region, adding that she was impressed with the public activities that the Zaytun
unit has provided to the people of Iraq, such as school construction and health
care centers.
South Korea's Zaytun unit was deployed to Iraq as part of U.S.-lead coalition
forces, but will be withdrawn by next month.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. will not stop pressing North Korea to fulfill its pledge to denuclearize despite the upcoming change of administrations, the top U.S. envoy to Seoul said Thursday, reaffirming her country's own commitment to the process.
"The U.S. remains completely committed to fully realizing the September 2005
commitment that North Korea abandon all nuclear weapons and all existing nuclear
programs," said U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens in a speech given to retired
South Korean soldiers.
North Korea in 2005 agreed with South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan in
the six-party talks to give up its nuclear ambitions, but went ahead with its
first nuclear test a year after the agreement when negotiations faltered.
"I think we need to make very clear it (North Korea) can have the future or
nuclear weapons, but it really can't get both," she said. "I believe that it will
be the challenge of the next (U.S.) administration to make that clear to
Pyongyang."
Welcoming Seoul's participation in the recent U.N. resolution urging improvement
in North Korea's human rights conditions, the envoy said the allies have
cooperated well to "hasten the day when the people of North Korea will enjoy a
better human rights situation."
Seoul had mostly abstained from voting in such resolutions in an attempt to avoid
provoking the North.
Stephens also said that the incoming U.S. President Barack Obama knows the
importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, indicating that there will be no
significant changes to the close relations after the change of government in
Washington.
"As President-elect Obama expressed when he spoke to President Lee Myung-bak
weeks ago, our alliance is a cornerstone of a peace and stability in Asia," said
Washington's first female ambassador to Seoul. "President-elect Obama understands
the vital importance of the U.S.-Korea relationship."
She appreciated South Korea's troops deployment to Iraq and its role in the
region, adding that she was impressed with the public activities that the Zaytun
unit has provided to the people of Iraq, such as school construction and health
care centers.
South Korea's Zaytun unit was deployed to Iraq as part of U.S.-lead coalition
forces, but will be withdrawn by next month.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
