Lee, Obama agree to deal sternly with N. Korean rocket launch at U.N.: White House

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States Thursday agreed to deal sternly with a North Korean rocket launch at the U.N. Security Council and pursue North Korea's denuclearization through the six-party talks, the White House said.

In their first summit, held in London on the margins of the G20 economic summit,
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama also
resolved to fight protectionism and try to make progress on ratification of a
pending free trade deal, according to a statement issued by the White House.
Lee accepted Obama's invitation to visit Washington on June 16, the White House
said.
"They urged North Korea to abide by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council
and agreed on the need for a unified response by the international community in
the event that North Korea launches a long-range missile," the statement said.
A senior administration official, accompanying Obama to London, said "the U.S.
and South Korea would consult closely about how to respond firmly at the U.N. to
that."
Reports said North Korea has begun fueling the rocket to fire it as early as
Saturday, the first day of the five-day window for its announced attempt to place
a satellite in orbit. The launch depends on weather conditions.
China and Russia appear to be reluctant to further sanction North Korea for a
rocket launch, which Pyongyang claims to be part of its peaceful space program.
Victor Cha, a professor at Georgetown University, said he expects that
"individual countries" will enforce the second and more important resolution
adopted in 2006, when North Korea detonated its first nuclear device after a
ballistic missile firing.
Richard Bush, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, echoed Cha's theme,
saying, "The focus will be on getting broader compliance with the sanctions
imposed in 2006."
China greatly toned down the 2006 resolution with a clause on an arbitrary
imposition. It bans any ballistic missile activity by North Korea and imposes a
trade embargo for North Korea on missile parts and other weapons-related products
as well as luxury goods.
Lee and Obama also concurred that they will "continue close cooperation in the
effort to peacefully and verifiably eliminate North Korea's nuclear programs,
weapons and materiel through six-party talks," the statement said.
The latest round of the multilateral talks, which include China, Russia and
Japan, hit a snag in December as the North refused to agree to a verification
regime for its nuclear facilities, insisting the verification protocol should be
discussed in the third and last phase of the denuclearization process under a
six-party deal.
The six-party talks are currently in the second phase, in which North Korea is
supposed to disable its nuclear programs in return for 1 million tons of heavy
fuel oil or equivalent aid.
More than 70 percent of the promised fuel aid has been funneled to the North.
Japan has refused to send its part, 200,000 tons, citing what it calls North
Korea's failure to fully address the kidnapping of Japanese citizens decades ago.
The third phase calls for the dismantlement of all of North Korea's nuclear
weapons programs in return for hefty economic aid and diplomatic recognition by
Washington and Tokyo.
Efforts by Obama and Lee alone may not be enough to revive the deadlocked
multilateral nuclear talks, which have been on and off for the past five and half
years.
Cha of Georgetown University said that the talks will resume "only if China
pushed the North hard to get back to the table."
"The pressure goes on China after the test," he said.
To Bush at The Brookings Institution, chances look slimmer.
"It seems, regrettably, that Pyongyang is trying to create circumstances that
will create an excuse for it to walk away from the six-party talks completely in
the hope of having bilateral talks only," he said.
Turning to economic issues, "The two presidents agreed that the U.S.-Korea Free
Trade Agreement could bring benefits to both countries and committed to working
together to chart a way forward," according to the White House statement. "They
both stressed the importance of avoiding protectionism and economic nationalism."
A senior aide to Obama said, asking anonymity, that the U.S. president told Lee
that he "understood there were difficulties on both sides on moving forward, but
he said he does want to make progress and our staffs should discuss how to move
forward."
"There was not talk of a schedule," the aide said. "There was simply an
acknowledgment that this was going to take time."
Barry Bosworth, senior research fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Yonhap,
"I think the statement on the FTA is fine, but it will not be submitted to the
U.S. Congress anytime in the near future."
"The administration will be too fearful of an adverse reaction that leads to
protectionist responses," he said. "I think action by mid-June is extremely
unlikely."
Cha also said he expects no breakthrough by June, when Lee is to visit Washington.
The bilateral FTA has been pending since its signing in June 2007 due mainly to
growing protectionism in the U.S. amid the worst recession in decades, triggered
by the subprime mortgage crisis and ensuing credit crunch.
Obama has said he would not endorse the Korea FTA as is, citing an imbalance in
auto trade. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has pledged to address the auto
issue as well as restricted shipments of U.S. beef before submitting the pact to
Congress for approval.
Some U.S. officials and experts have proposed that the sides come up with a
"creative" way to circumvent a renegotiation, which Seoul vehemently opposes.
The two leaders also agreed to take strong measures to "stimulate their economies
and to build international consensus on reform of the international regulatory
and supervisory system," according to the statement.
Obama has lauded Lee for the South Korean government's bold fiscal and monetary
policies to help stimulate the plunging economy just as Obama has done in the
U.S.
During the 30-minute summit, Obama expressed "admiration for the stimulus package
that South Korea has put forward," the anonymous aide said.
Obama, meanwhile, appreciates South Korea's "contributions and support for the
international effort to promote stability and to assist reconstruction in the
Afghanistan-Pakistan region," according to the White House statement.
Obama recently announced plans to greatly reinforce American troops in
Afghanistan to face Taliban insurgents, gaining strength against the U.S.-backed
Kabul government, while seeking help from U.S. allies.
South Korean officials say that Seoul will contribute more to the war-torn
Central Asian state, possibly by training police and providing additional medical
and economic supplies.
"South Korea has been active in providing vocational and medical assistance in
Afghanistan," another Obama aide said. "They're looking to doing more, which we
appreciate."
The leaders also reasserted their commitment to the bilateral alliance and
"shared a vision for broadening and modernizing the alliance to address the
challenges of the 21st century and decided to explore ideas for increasing
regional and global cooperation at their meeting in June," the statement said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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