U.S., S. Korea will coordinate message to Pyongyang: envoy

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- U.S. envoy to South Korea said Friday that Seoul and
Washington will continue to work closely in delivering a coordinated message
against any provocative move by North Korea, including its plan to launch a
satellite.
"We will continue to stay in close touch to try to send a coordinated message
that any kind of missile launch will be a provocative act and a violation of
standing U.N. security resolution 1718 regardless of how it's characterized,"
Amb. Kathleen Stephens said at a meeting with retired South Korean diplomats in
Seoul.
Her comment came as the date drew nearer to North Korea's planned launch of what
it calls a "communications satellite," which Pyongyang has said will take place
between April 4-8. Intelligence officials from neighboring countries fear North
Korea actually intends to test-fire a ballistic missile capable of striking
Alaska.
"This clearly prohibits North Korea from all activities related to its ballistic
missile program and that includes a satellite launch," she said of the U.N.
resolution.
"We will continue to call in a coordinated way for North Korea to refrain from
those kinds of activities," Stephens said, urging the communist country to return
to the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
The ambassador, reiterating U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's previous
comments, highlighted that Washington is "willing to normalize bilateral
relations" with North Korea if it abandons its nuclear program.
Washington is willing to "replace the armistice agreement with a peace treaty and
insist in meeting (North Korea's) energy, economic and humanitarian needs," she
said.
During her visit to Seoul in late February, Clinton proposed that the U.S.
normalize ties, provide massive economic aid and establish a permanent peace
regime to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War in return for
North Korea abandoning its nuclear weapons programs.
Concerning a pending free trade agreement between South Korea and the U.S., which
U.S. President Barack Obama described as "badly flawed" during his campaign, the
ambassador asked for "patience."
"We will move forward," Stephens said, adding that everyone in the Obama
administration has noted the "vast potential" of the FTA, which was signed in
2007 but still requires approval by the legislative bodies of both countries.
Last week, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk pledged to work closely with South
Korea to address U.S. concerns over restricted shipments of U.S. beef and an
imbalance in auto trade before bringing the Korea FTA to Congress for
ratification.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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