U.S. warns N. Korea not to launch rocket, shy away from discussing consequences By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Yonhap) -- The United States kept up its pressure on North Korea Friday, urging once again that it refrain from launching a rocket -- either military or scientific -- but stopped short of specifying a response to any such action.

"As to what will happen and when things happen, I'll have to leave that for a
future discussion," State Department deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said in a
daily news briefing. "Most interpret a launch, as well, as being a violation of
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718. I think the isolation that North Korea
feels on this issue is something that should be noted by us, if it's not being
taken to heart there."
The spokesman was referring to North Korea's claim that it is launching a rocket
April 4-8 to orbit a communications satellite as part of its right to develop a
space program.
U.S. President Barack Obama has expressed concerns over the North's imminent
rocket launch and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has talked about "a range of
options" that include additional sanctions by the U.N. Security Council.
China, North Korea's staunch communist ally, and Russia, however, appear to be
reluctant to join the U.S. in sanctioning any satellite launch by the North as
they, along with the U.S., are the countries most frequently launching satellites
for commercial as well as military purposes.
Critics are skeptical of the claims by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and
other senior officials that the U.S. has the capability to shoot down any
ballistic missile coming from North Korea, citing technological shortfalls and
political ramifications. In the most recent sea-based test, a Japanese warship
equipped with the U.S. Aegis missile defense system failed to intercept a test
missile fired from Hawaii in November.
Clinton earlier this week proposed to hold missile talks with the North Koreans
without elaborating on whether the talks should go along with the nuclear talks
or separately.
Duguid urged the North to stop making threats and come back to the multilateral
talks on ending the North's nuclear ambitions.
"North Korean belligerent statements and actions are not helpful to the six-party
process; they are not part of what North Korea has committed to do under the
six-party talks; and that in the interest of moving forward to denuclearize the
Korean Peninsula, North Korea should live up to its agreements and come back to
the table and start discussing where we go after that to make progress," he said.
The latest round of the six-party talks stalled in December as North Korea
refused to agree to a verification protocol for its nuclear facilities, although
the U.S. thinks it as pivotal in bringing light to North Korea's past and present
nuclear activities.
Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea, toured South
Korea, Japan and China last week to discuss resumption of the nuclear talks, but
failed to stop in Pyongyang amid rising tensions in the region due to the North's
planned rocket launch and an annual joint military drills between South Korea and
the U.S.
"As you know, he was not invited to go to North Korea, which we regret," Clinton
said earlier this week while discussing Bosworth's recent Asian trip. "He was
prepared to go on a moment's notice to begin discussions with the North Koreans,
as I have been doing with all of our six-party partners."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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