ID :
46734
Sat, 02/21/2009 - 14:43
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https://www.oananews.org//node/46734
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Clinton ends 21-hour stay in Seoul after show of 'smart power,' clear message to Pyongyang By Lee Chi-dong
Clinton ends 21-hour stay in Seoul after show of 'smart power,' clear message to Pyongyang By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left South Korea for Beijing Friday night after a two-day trip, during which she expressed her commitment to "smart power" and a carrot-and-stick approach to North Korea.
Emerging from talks with her South Korean counterpart, Yu Myung-hwan, she urged
North Korea to stop "provocative and unhelpful" acts of escalating tension. She
stressed that if North Korea fires a missile again, it would violate the United
Nations Resolution 1718, adopted after the North's long-range missile test in
2006.
Clinton also made clear that Pyongyang's tactic of "talking only with the U.S.
while shunning dialogue with South Korea," will backfire.
In addition, she offered an olive branch to the communist nation.
"I make the offer again here in Seoul: If North Korea is genuinely prepared to
completely and verifiably eliminate nuclear weapons, the Obama administration
will be willing to normalize bilateral relations, replace the peninsula's
long-standing armistice agreement with a permanent peace treaty and assist
immediately the energy and other economic and humanitarian needs of the Korean
people," she said, speaking to female college students.
Clinton also expressed her keen interest in women's empowerment when meeting with
students in the traditionally patriarchal nation.
"No country has yet achieved full equality for women. There is still a lot ahead
for us to make sure that gender equality becomes reality," Clinton said in a
speech at Ewha Womans University. "Part of my mission as the secretary of state
is (making sure) the United States is committed to enhancing the rights of
women."
South Korean officials here gave a positive evaluation of Clinton's overall
stance on the North Korean issue and the alliance with South Korea.
The secretary reaffirmed Washington's will to bolster the alliance in a meeting
with President Lee Myung-bak. She also discussed the global economic crisis and
climate change in a separate meeting with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo.
It was Clinton's first trip to South Korea in her capacity as Washington's top
diplomat in the third leg of a four-nation Asia tour, with other stops in Japan
and Indonesia.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left South Korea for Beijing Friday night after a two-day trip, during which she expressed her commitment to "smart power" and a carrot-and-stick approach to North Korea.
Emerging from talks with her South Korean counterpart, Yu Myung-hwan, she urged
North Korea to stop "provocative and unhelpful" acts of escalating tension. She
stressed that if North Korea fires a missile again, it would violate the United
Nations Resolution 1718, adopted after the North's long-range missile test in
2006.
Clinton also made clear that Pyongyang's tactic of "talking only with the U.S.
while shunning dialogue with South Korea," will backfire.
In addition, she offered an olive branch to the communist nation.
"I make the offer again here in Seoul: If North Korea is genuinely prepared to
completely and verifiably eliminate nuclear weapons, the Obama administration
will be willing to normalize bilateral relations, replace the peninsula's
long-standing armistice agreement with a permanent peace treaty and assist
immediately the energy and other economic and humanitarian needs of the Korean
people," she said, speaking to female college students.
Clinton also expressed her keen interest in women's empowerment when meeting with
students in the traditionally patriarchal nation.
"No country has yet achieved full equality for women. There is still a lot ahead
for us to make sure that gender equality becomes reality," Clinton said in a
speech at Ewha Womans University. "Part of my mission as the secretary of state
is (making sure) the United States is committed to enhancing the rights of
women."
South Korean officials here gave a positive evaluation of Clinton's overall
stance on the North Korean issue and the alliance with South Korea.
The secretary reaffirmed Washington's will to bolster the alliance in a meeting
with President Lee Myung-bak. She also discussed the global economic crisis and
climate change in a separate meeting with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo.
It was Clinton's first trip to South Korea in her capacity as Washington's top
diplomat in the third leg of a four-nation Asia tour, with other stops in Japan
and Indonesia.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
