ID :
52665
Sat, 03/28/2009 - 16:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/52665
The shortlink copeid
Nuclear envoys get together to discuss N. Korean missile, nuke talks
WASHINGTON, March 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's chief nuclear envoy Friday met with his U.S. counterpart here to discuss North Korea's imminent rocket launch and resumption of the six-party talks on ending the North's nuclear ambitions.
Wi Sung-lack and Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special envoy for North Korea, began the
bilateral meeting at the State Department in the afternoon soon after Bosworth's
separate meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Akitaka Saiki.
Upon entering the department, Wi said, "We will discuss North Korea's long-range
rocket launch and resumption of the six-party talks."
The South Korean envoy would not respond to a question about what his country
will do if the North actually launches the rocket, saying only, "We believe it is
violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution no matter what they launch."
"We would not prejudge what the U.N. Security Council will do," he said. "It
depends on the Security Council."
The three nuclear envoys will have a working dinner later in the day to
coordinate their positions on North Korea amid heightened tensions on the Korean
Peninsula after North Korea's announcement of a rocket launch to send a satellite
into space in early April, coinciding with the G20 economic summit meeting in
London.
The trilateral meeting is the first of its kind since Bosworth's appointment as
U.S. President Barack Obama's point man on North Korea last month.
Bosworth got a cold shoulder from Pyongyang during his tour of Seoul, Beijing and
Tokyo last month to meet with officials on North Korea's missile and nuclear
weapons program.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she regrets that, adding in an
interview with Fox Television Thursday, "I sent word that we would like to have
our special envoy for North Korean policy go to Pyongyang. They didn't want him
to come. So we're working hard."
North Korea has warned against any move by the U.S. either to shoot down the
North's rocket or bring the case to the U.N. Security Council for possible
sanctions. The North has threatened further to scrap the nuclear talks, stalled
over a verification protocol for its nuclear facilities.
A spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry promised "strong measures" in the
face of any U.N. actions against the rocket launch, hinting at a possible second
nuclear test, following one conducted in 2006.
The spokesman was apparently responding to Clinton's remarks that she will refer
the rocket launch to the UNSC, warning that any launch will bear "consequences."
Despite claims by senior U.S. officials that the U.S. has the capability to shoot
down any rocket or missile from North Korea, some experts say that Washington
will not attempt it due to technical shortfalls and political implications.
Chinese and Russian officials have been urging "all the parties concerned" to
show restraint, spawning speculation that they may not join any efforts by the
U.S. and its allies to further sanction the North.
North Korea insists it has the right to orbit a satellite as part of its space
program.
China, North Korea's staunchest communist ally, and Russia greatly toned down the
U.N. resolution adopted in 2006 soon after North Korea's ballistic missile test.
North Korea also detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006, just months
after its missile test, and reports suggest the North might have developed
nuclear warheads small enough for missile delivery.
U.S. officials and experts see the North's planned rocket launch as an attempt to
show off its missile capability and revive the missile talks suspended under the
Bill Clinton administration a decade ago.
"North Korea is attempting to demonstrate an ICBM capability through a space
launch. That's what they are up to," Dennis Blair, director of national
intelligence, told reporters Thursday.
Secretary Clinton has said she would like to initiate missile talks with North
Korea, while other U.S. officials have said that Washington needs to discuss the
matter with other parties to the six-party talks before deciding whether to
pursue the missile talks separately from the nuclear talks.
Some experts have proposed that Washington pay up to US$1 billion annually in
compensation if the North halts long-range missile exports, deployment and
development.
North Korea, said to be a major provider of missiles and missile parts to Syria,
Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, made the demand a decade earlier.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
Wi Sung-lack and Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special envoy for North Korea, began the
bilateral meeting at the State Department in the afternoon soon after Bosworth's
separate meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Akitaka Saiki.
Upon entering the department, Wi said, "We will discuss North Korea's long-range
rocket launch and resumption of the six-party talks."
The South Korean envoy would not respond to a question about what his country
will do if the North actually launches the rocket, saying only, "We believe it is
violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution no matter what they launch."
"We would not prejudge what the U.N. Security Council will do," he said. "It
depends on the Security Council."
The three nuclear envoys will have a working dinner later in the day to
coordinate their positions on North Korea amid heightened tensions on the Korean
Peninsula after North Korea's announcement of a rocket launch to send a satellite
into space in early April, coinciding with the G20 economic summit meeting in
London.
The trilateral meeting is the first of its kind since Bosworth's appointment as
U.S. President Barack Obama's point man on North Korea last month.
Bosworth got a cold shoulder from Pyongyang during his tour of Seoul, Beijing and
Tokyo last month to meet with officials on North Korea's missile and nuclear
weapons program.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she regrets that, adding in an
interview with Fox Television Thursday, "I sent word that we would like to have
our special envoy for North Korean policy go to Pyongyang. They didn't want him
to come. So we're working hard."
North Korea has warned against any move by the U.S. either to shoot down the
North's rocket or bring the case to the U.N. Security Council for possible
sanctions. The North has threatened further to scrap the nuclear talks, stalled
over a verification protocol for its nuclear facilities.
A spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry promised "strong measures" in the
face of any U.N. actions against the rocket launch, hinting at a possible second
nuclear test, following one conducted in 2006.
The spokesman was apparently responding to Clinton's remarks that she will refer
the rocket launch to the UNSC, warning that any launch will bear "consequences."
Despite claims by senior U.S. officials that the U.S. has the capability to shoot
down any rocket or missile from North Korea, some experts say that Washington
will not attempt it due to technical shortfalls and political implications.
Chinese and Russian officials have been urging "all the parties concerned" to
show restraint, spawning speculation that they may not join any efforts by the
U.S. and its allies to further sanction the North.
North Korea insists it has the right to orbit a satellite as part of its space
program.
China, North Korea's staunchest communist ally, and Russia greatly toned down the
U.N. resolution adopted in 2006 soon after North Korea's ballistic missile test.
North Korea also detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006, just months
after its missile test, and reports suggest the North might have developed
nuclear warheads small enough for missile delivery.
U.S. officials and experts see the North's planned rocket launch as an attempt to
show off its missile capability and revive the missile talks suspended under the
Bill Clinton administration a decade ago.
"North Korea is attempting to demonstrate an ICBM capability through a space
launch. That's what they are up to," Dennis Blair, director of national
intelligence, told reporters Thursday.
Secretary Clinton has said she would like to initiate missile talks with North
Korea, while other U.S. officials have said that Washington needs to discuss the
matter with other parties to the six-party talks before deciding whether to
pursue the missile talks separately from the nuclear talks.
Some experts have proposed that Washington pay up to US$1 billion annually in
compensation if the North halts long-range missile exports, deployment and
development.
North Korea, said to be a major provider of missiles and missile parts to Syria,
Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, made the demand a decade earlier.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
