Washington trying to free U.S. reporters detained in N. Korea: envoy

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SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- Details on the condition of two U.S. journalists who
have been detained since earlier this week in North Korea are still unclear, the
U.S. ambassador to South Korea said Friday, amid Washington's efforts to secure
their release.
"We are still trying to get a sense of exactly what the situation is and what
happened," Amb. Kathleen Stephens told reporters after a luncheon meeting with
retired South Korean diplomats in Seoul.
Stephens was discussing a report that two reporters from Current TV, an American
Internet outlet, were taken by North Korean soldiers along the Tumen River on
the Chinese side of the border while filming the North Korean side.
"Certainly for the U.S government, there is no higher priority than securing the
welfare and the whereabouts of U.S. citizens when they are abroad."
Robert Wood, the U.S. State Department spokesman, said Thursday in Washington
that authorities will contact North Korea and China to secure the release of the
two American journalists.
Stephens said that diplomatic officials were still trying to assess what the
situation is with the U.S. citizens "who do seem to be held in some way."
"(We're trying) to secure their safety, and that is what my colleagues in
Washington and relevant diplomatic establishments overseas are working on. So we
will hope for the best," she said.
On North Korea issues, the envoy said the U.S. and South Korea will continue to
work closely in delivering a coordinated message against any provocative move by
Pyongyang, 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."
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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