ID :
42484
Sat, 01/24/2009 - 17:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/42484
The shortlink copeid
Obama gov't reviewing options to deal with N. Korean nuke: State Dept.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- The newly inaugurated Barack Obama
administration, while committed to dealing with North Korea's denuclearization through the six-party framework, is reviewing all options, the State Department said Friday.
"Secretary (Hilary) Clinton is very committed to trying to deal with this issue
of North Korea's nuclear program," spokesman Robert Wood said in a daily news
briefing. "And again, the Administration is reviewing its options with regard to
North Korea."
Wood stopped short of setting a timeline for the review process, saying it would
"be a review of a wide range of things: documents, speaking with, you know,
experts, speaking to previous administration officials. That's all part of a
review, and I can't put a timeline on it."
The spokesman noted Secretary of State Clinton's comments before a Senate
confirmation hearing last week, saying that six-party talks had merit.
"I would just say, as you just mentioned, that it's certainly a framework that
has merit. But again, as I said, it's under review," the spokesman said. "So it
wouldn't be fair for me to comment on where we're going at this point until that
review is completed."
At her confirmation hearing, Clinton said she would engage North Korea directly
as well as through the six-party talks to address the communist nation's alleged
uranium-based nuclear program and suspected proliferation activities, as well as
its plutonium-producing reactor.
Her remarks are in line with the pledge made by President Obama during his
swearing-in ceremony Tuesday that he would "work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear
threat with old friends and former foes."
Clinton also said that as Secretary of State she would employ "smart power,"
which she pointed out "requires reaching out to both friends and adversaries, to
bolster old alliances and to forge new ones."
On North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's reported remarks earlier in the day that he
was dedicated to the North's denuclearization through the six-party talks, Wood
said, "That's a good thing."
"I mean, if you go back to September 2005, the North Koreans agreed to take a
number of steps toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said. "So we
hope to see the North adhere to what it agreed to."
Wood was referring to the six-party deal in which the North agreed to
denuclearize in return for massive economic aid, normalization of ties with
Washington and Tokyo and establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
The six-party process, however, hit a snag in the latest round of talks last
month when Pyongyang refused to agree to a verification protocol for its nuclear
facilities.
"Well, one of the problems that we've had with the North is trying to get this
verification protocol so that we can verify all of the documents, the 18,000
pages that were submitted," Wood said. "We want to see the North agree to those
types of verification measures."
The verification regime is an important part of the denuclearization process, he
said. "The greater interest is, you know, getting rid of North Korea's nuclear
weapons program."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
administration, while committed to dealing with North Korea's denuclearization through the six-party framework, is reviewing all options, the State Department said Friday.
"Secretary (Hilary) Clinton is very committed to trying to deal with this issue
of North Korea's nuclear program," spokesman Robert Wood said in a daily news
briefing. "And again, the Administration is reviewing its options with regard to
North Korea."
Wood stopped short of setting a timeline for the review process, saying it would
"be a review of a wide range of things: documents, speaking with, you know,
experts, speaking to previous administration officials. That's all part of a
review, and I can't put a timeline on it."
The spokesman noted Secretary of State Clinton's comments before a Senate
confirmation hearing last week, saying that six-party talks had merit.
"I would just say, as you just mentioned, that it's certainly a framework that
has merit. But again, as I said, it's under review," the spokesman said. "So it
wouldn't be fair for me to comment on where we're going at this point until that
review is completed."
At her confirmation hearing, Clinton said she would engage North Korea directly
as well as through the six-party talks to address the communist nation's alleged
uranium-based nuclear program and suspected proliferation activities, as well as
its plutonium-producing reactor.
Her remarks are in line with the pledge made by President Obama during his
swearing-in ceremony Tuesday that he would "work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear
threat with old friends and former foes."
Clinton also said that as Secretary of State she would employ "smart power,"
which she pointed out "requires reaching out to both friends and adversaries, to
bolster old alliances and to forge new ones."
On North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's reported remarks earlier in the day that he
was dedicated to the North's denuclearization through the six-party talks, Wood
said, "That's a good thing."
"I mean, if you go back to September 2005, the North Koreans agreed to take a
number of steps toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said. "So we
hope to see the North adhere to what it agreed to."
Wood was referring to the six-party deal in which the North agreed to
denuclearize in return for massive economic aid, normalization of ties with
Washington and Tokyo and establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
The six-party process, however, hit a snag in the latest round of talks last
month when Pyongyang refused to agree to a verification protocol for its nuclear
facilities.
"Well, one of the problems that we've had with the North is trying to get this
verification protocol so that we can verify all of the documents, the 18,000
pages that were submitted," Wood said. "We want to see the North agree to those
types of verification measures."
The verification regime is an important part of the denuclearization process, he
said. "The greater interest is, you know, getting rid of North Korea's nuclear
weapons program."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
