ID :
53257
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 08:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/53257
The shortlink copeid
Obama urged to engage N. Korea bilaterally for denuclearization
WASHINGTON, March 31 (Yonhap) -- A group of U.S. experts on Korea recommended Tuesday that the Barack Obama administration engage North Korea bilaterally to complement the six-party talks and persuade the reluctant communist regime to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
"While six-party talks should be continued, the United States should consider
bilateral talks with North Korea to explore whether a new mix of inducements and
pressures might achieve U.S. and South Korean goals," said the group, "New
Beginnings," in a policy report.
Among the group's members are Jack Pritchard, head of the Korea Economic
Institute, and Evans Revere, president of the Korea Society.
The on-and-off multilateral talks, which began in 2003, stalled again in December
when North Korea refused to agree to a protocol to verify its nuclear facilities.
"This regime appears increasingly unlikely to give up its nuclear capabilities,"
the report said, stressing the need for closer cooperation among the U.S. and its
two close Asian allies, South Korea and Japan.
"The United States, ROK and Japan should seek a high-level understanding on how
to deal with possible future instability in the North and offer to include China
in such consultations," the report said. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea,
South Korea's official name.
Obama was also advised to have "a consistent, long-term strategy to encourage
North Korea's transformation" while making it clear that the U.S. "will never
accept a North Korea with nuclear weapons."
North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in 2006 and is believed to have
several nuclear bombs.
The U.S. is also considering initiating separate talks with North Korea to
dissuade it from developing, deploying and exporting ballistic missiles as
Pyongyang prepares to launch a rocket it says will send a satellite into space.
The U.S. sees the launch as a cover for a ballistic missile test.
A successful launch, which Pyongyang has said will take place between April 4 and
8, would greatly enhance the North's negotiating power in missile talks.
Negotiations on the North's missile program were suspended under the Bill Clinton
administration.
At the time, Pyongyang demanded Washington pay up to US$1 billion annually in
return for scrapping its ballistic missile program.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
"While six-party talks should be continued, the United States should consider
bilateral talks with North Korea to explore whether a new mix of inducements and
pressures might achieve U.S. and South Korean goals," said the group, "New
Beginnings," in a policy report.
Among the group's members are Jack Pritchard, head of the Korea Economic
Institute, and Evans Revere, president of the Korea Society.
The on-and-off multilateral talks, which began in 2003, stalled again in December
when North Korea refused to agree to a protocol to verify its nuclear facilities.
"This regime appears increasingly unlikely to give up its nuclear capabilities,"
the report said, stressing the need for closer cooperation among the U.S. and its
two close Asian allies, South Korea and Japan.
"The United States, ROK and Japan should seek a high-level understanding on how
to deal with possible future instability in the North and offer to include China
in such consultations," the report said. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea,
South Korea's official name.
Obama was also advised to have "a consistent, long-term strategy to encourage
North Korea's transformation" while making it clear that the U.S. "will never
accept a North Korea with nuclear weapons."
North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in 2006 and is believed to have
several nuclear bombs.
The U.S. is also considering initiating separate talks with North Korea to
dissuade it from developing, deploying and exporting ballistic missiles as
Pyongyang prepares to launch a rocket it says will send a satellite into space.
The U.S. sees the launch as a cover for a ballistic missile test.
A successful launch, which Pyongyang has said will take place between April 4 and
8, would greatly enhance the North's negotiating power in missile talks.
Negotiations on the North's missile program were suspended under the Bill Clinton
administration.
At the time, Pyongyang demanded Washington pay up to US$1 billion annually in
return for scrapping its ballistic missile program.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
