ID :
35099
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 16:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/35099
The shortlink copeid
Obama urged to send special envoy to meet with N. Korean leader
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- A prominent U.S. expert on Korea called on Washington's incoming Barack Obama administration on Wednesday to send a special envoy to meet directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and discuss the denuclearization of the communist state.
The remarks by Evans Revere, president of the New York-based Korea Society, is in
line with Obama's campaign pledge that he will be willing to meet with the
leaders of rogue states.
Revere, former deputy assistant secretary of state, told a forum at the KORUS
House here that a lack of engagement with the North at the "crucial
decision-making level in Pyongyang" has been a major foreign policy flaw of the
Bush White House.
"After a careful policy review, after close coordinations with our allies and
after developing a clear negotiating strategy, we should be prepared to add an
additional channel to our multilateral and bilateral dialogue channel with the
DPRK," he said, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
"Engaging with the DPRK's leadership at the highest possible level can be
valuable in terms of ensuring that the DPRK understands clearly that the U.S.
government means business when it advocates a robust U.S. diplomatic approach and
this approach has a personal blessing of the president of the U.S.," he said.
He said the series of summit meetings that South Korea, China and Japan have held
with North Korea's Kim since 2000 have helped enhance mutual understanding and
resolve pending issues to some extent.
"Only engagement in the most top leadership in Pyongyang has enabled serious
discussions of fundamental strategic issues," he said. "In the North Korean
system, decisions about core national security issues are made by one person whom
we have not engaged with in recent years."
Revere also advised the Obama to seek closer ties with South Korea and Japan in
dealing with North Korea.
"The new administration has to be aware that the U.S. management of North Korea
issue has raised concerns in Seoul, Tokyo and elsewhere in recent years," he
said. "It is fair to raise the adequacy of the consultative process Washington
has followed in recent years."
Revere stressed the need to prioritize pragmatism over ideology in the North
Korean nuclear issue, saying, "We need policies firmed rooted in reality and not
wishful thinking."
On the pending Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), Revere advised South Korea
to come up with a "creative mechanism" to address U.S. concerns over the American
auto crisis.
He described trade and exports as "vital components of America's path to economic
recovery," and warned that a failure to pass the FTA would be a major blow to
bilateral ties between Seoul and Washington.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
The remarks by Evans Revere, president of the New York-based Korea Society, is in
line with Obama's campaign pledge that he will be willing to meet with the
leaders of rogue states.
Revere, former deputy assistant secretary of state, told a forum at the KORUS
House here that a lack of engagement with the North at the "crucial
decision-making level in Pyongyang" has been a major foreign policy flaw of the
Bush White House.
"After a careful policy review, after close coordinations with our allies and
after developing a clear negotiating strategy, we should be prepared to add an
additional channel to our multilateral and bilateral dialogue channel with the
DPRK," he said, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
"Engaging with the DPRK's leadership at the highest possible level can be
valuable in terms of ensuring that the DPRK understands clearly that the U.S.
government means business when it advocates a robust U.S. diplomatic approach and
this approach has a personal blessing of the president of the U.S.," he said.
He said the series of summit meetings that South Korea, China and Japan have held
with North Korea's Kim since 2000 have helped enhance mutual understanding and
resolve pending issues to some extent.
"Only engagement in the most top leadership in Pyongyang has enabled serious
discussions of fundamental strategic issues," he said. "In the North Korean
system, decisions about core national security issues are made by one person whom
we have not engaged with in recent years."
Revere also advised the Obama to seek closer ties with South Korea and Japan in
dealing with North Korea.
"The new administration has to be aware that the U.S. management of North Korea
issue has raised concerns in Seoul, Tokyo and elsewhere in recent years," he
said. "It is fair to raise the adequacy of the consultative process Washington
has followed in recent years."
Revere stressed the need to prioritize pragmatism over ideology in the North
Korean nuclear issue, saying, "We need policies firmed rooted in reality and not
wishful thinking."
On the pending Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), Revere advised South Korea
to come up with a "creative mechanism" to address U.S. concerns over the American
auto crisis.
He described trade and exports as "vital components of America's path to economic
recovery," and warned that a failure to pass the FTA would be a major blow to
bilateral ties between Seoul and Washington.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
