ID :
46743
Sat, 02/21/2009 - 15:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/46743
The shortlink copeid
Clinton urges N. Korea to stop all activity on missile launches+
SEOUL, Feb. 20 Kyodo - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged North Korea on Friday to end all activities related to test-firing ballistic missiles.
''North Korea is required to suspend all activities related to ballistic
missile programs,'' Clinton said at a joint press conference after talks with
South Korean foreign minister Yu Myung Hwan.
North Korea is reportedly preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile, a
move certain to raise tension in the region.
''We are calling on the government of North Korea to refrain from being
provocative and unhelpful in a war of words they engaged in because it is not
fruitful,'' Clinton said.
Yu expressed ''grave concerns'' about North Korea's missile programs and said a
North missile launch would be a violation of U.N. resolutions adopted in 2006.
North Korea test-fired missiles in July 2006, including what is believed to be
the long-range Taepodong-2, in a move that drew a flurry of condemnation from
its neighbors.
In August, 1998, Pyongyang also fired a missile, believed to be a Taepodong-1,
part of which flew over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
North Korea said that was the launch of a satellite that successfully entered
into orbit.
At the same press conference, Clinton warned North Korea not to try to improve
ties with the United States at the expense of relations with South Korea.
North Korea is ''not going to get a different relationship with'' the United
States ''while insulting and refusing dialogue'' with South Korea, she said.
Relations between North and South Korea have deteriorated since conservative
President Lee Myung Bak took office a year ago.
North Korea recently ratcheted up military tensions on the Korean Peninsula
with a statement threatening the South with ''an all-out confrontation.''
''The Lee Myung Bak group of traitors should never forget that the Korean
People's Army is fully ready for an all-out confrontation,'' a North Korean
spokesman for the North Korea's army chief of staff was quoted by the North
Korean Central News Agency, monitored by Yonhap News Agency.
On Friday, a South Korean statement summarizing the outcome of the Clinton-Yu
meeting said the two leaders reconfirmed their pledge to denuclearize North
Korea through the six-party talks.
The six-party talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan
and Russia, remain stalled due to differences over confirmation of information
on the North's nuclear past.
The statement said the Yu-Clinton discussions also covered bilateral
cooperation on the global financial crisis, on climate change and to make
progress on a yet-to-be ratified free trade agreement.
Clinton arrived in Seoul late Thursday, her third stop after Tokyo and Jakarta
on her first overseas tour. She will visit China after South Korea.
She is to hold a luncheon meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and
meet with Prime Minister Han Seung Soo before flying to Beijing later Friday.
Clinton's itinerary in Seoul also includes visiting a women's university to
attend women leaders' forum and a meeting with a number of female lawmakers.
==Kyodo
2009-02-20 20:32:02
''North Korea is required to suspend all activities related to ballistic
missile programs,'' Clinton said at a joint press conference after talks with
South Korean foreign minister Yu Myung Hwan.
North Korea is reportedly preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile, a
move certain to raise tension in the region.
''We are calling on the government of North Korea to refrain from being
provocative and unhelpful in a war of words they engaged in because it is not
fruitful,'' Clinton said.
Yu expressed ''grave concerns'' about North Korea's missile programs and said a
North missile launch would be a violation of U.N. resolutions adopted in 2006.
North Korea test-fired missiles in July 2006, including what is believed to be
the long-range Taepodong-2, in a move that drew a flurry of condemnation from
its neighbors.
In August, 1998, Pyongyang also fired a missile, believed to be a Taepodong-1,
part of which flew over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
North Korea said that was the launch of a satellite that successfully entered
into orbit.
At the same press conference, Clinton warned North Korea not to try to improve
ties with the United States at the expense of relations with South Korea.
North Korea is ''not going to get a different relationship with'' the United
States ''while insulting and refusing dialogue'' with South Korea, she said.
Relations between North and South Korea have deteriorated since conservative
President Lee Myung Bak took office a year ago.
North Korea recently ratcheted up military tensions on the Korean Peninsula
with a statement threatening the South with ''an all-out confrontation.''
''The Lee Myung Bak group of traitors should never forget that the Korean
People's Army is fully ready for an all-out confrontation,'' a North Korean
spokesman for the North Korea's army chief of staff was quoted by the North
Korean Central News Agency, monitored by Yonhap News Agency.
On Friday, a South Korean statement summarizing the outcome of the Clinton-Yu
meeting said the two leaders reconfirmed their pledge to denuclearize North
Korea through the six-party talks.
The six-party talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan
and Russia, remain stalled due to differences over confirmation of information
on the North's nuclear past.
The statement said the Yu-Clinton discussions also covered bilateral
cooperation on the global financial crisis, on climate change and to make
progress on a yet-to-be ratified free trade agreement.
Clinton arrived in Seoul late Thursday, her third stop after Tokyo and Jakarta
on her first overseas tour. She will visit China after South Korea.
She is to hold a luncheon meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and
meet with Prime Minister Han Seung Soo before flying to Beijing later Friday.
Clinton's itinerary in Seoul also includes visiting a women's university to
attend women leaders' forum and a meeting with a number of female lawmakers.
==Kyodo
2009-02-20 20:32:02
