ID :
58318
Thu, 04/30/2009 - 09:36
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/58318
The shortlink copeid
U.S. urges N. Korea to stop threatening, return to nuke talks
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, April 29 (Yonhap) -- The United States Wednesday urged North Korea to refrain from threats of further nuclear and ballistic missile tests and return to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks.
"Let me just say very clearly that these threats only further isolate the North,"
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. "The North needs to come back to the
table. And we are working with our partners to try to convince the North to do
that."
North Korea earlier in the day threatened to conduct additional nuclear tests and
launch intercontinental ballistic missiles and hinted at pursuing a uranium
program, apparently to reinforce its nuclear arsenal, unless the U.N. Security
Council apologizes for its condemnation of the North's rocket launch earlier this
month.
"I don't think you'll see an apology from the Security Council," Wood said.
The council imposed financial and trade embargoes on three North Korean firms for
their alleged involvement in the trading of parts of ballistic missiles and other
weapons of mass destruction.
North Korea insists it sent a satellite into space as part of its peaceful space
program. The U.S. and its allies see that as a cover for a ballistic missile
test.
North Korea has also said it will indefinitely boycott the multilateral nuclear
talks, saying the sanctions effectively nullify a denuclearization deal by
demonstrating hostility that runs counter to a spirit of mutual respect.
Wood stressed the need for international cooperation to persuade the North to
come back to the nuclear talks.
"We encourage those who have influence with the regime in Pyongyang to use that
influence to convince the North to live up to its obligations, as -- you know,
focusing specifically on the 2005 joint statement in which it agreed to a
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said.
Under the joint statement signed in September 2005 between North Korea and five
other parties to the multilateral nuclear talks, including South Korea, the U.S.,
China, Japan and Russia, the North is supposed to dismantle its nuclear programs
in return for hefty economic aid and political benefits.
The six-party talks have been deadlocked since December over how to verify North
Korea's past and current nuclear activity.
"Where we got hung up was on verification," Wood said. "Well, it's certainly
static. There hasn't been movement. We're not seeing progress here."
North Korea rejected the proposal by Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special
representative for North Korea, to visit Pyongyang in early March when he toured
Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo for consultations on resumption of the six-party talks.
Observers suspect Pyongyang is jockeying for a bilateral dialogue with the U.S.
as an alternative to the stalled multilateral talks.
WASHINGTON, April 29 (Yonhap) -- The United States Wednesday urged North Korea to refrain from threats of further nuclear and ballistic missile tests and return to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks.
"Let me just say very clearly that these threats only further isolate the North,"
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. "The North needs to come back to the
table. And we are working with our partners to try to convince the North to do
that."
North Korea earlier in the day threatened to conduct additional nuclear tests and
launch intercontinental ballistic missiles and hinted at pursuing a uranium
program, apparently to reinforce its nuclear arsenal, unless the U.N. Security
Council apologizes for its condemnation of the North's rocket launch earlier this
month.
"I don't think you'll see an apology from the Security Council," Wood said.
The council imposed financial and trade embargoes on three North Korean firms for
their alleged involvement in the trading of parts of ballistic missiles and other
weapons of mass destruction.
North Korea insists it sent a satellite into space as part of its peaceful space
program. The U.S. and its allies see that as a cover for a ballistic missile
test.
North Korea has also said it will indefinitely boycott the multilateral nuclear
talks, saying the sanctions effectively nullify a denuclearization deal by
demonstrating hostility that runs counter to a spirit of mutual respect.
Wood stressed the need for international cooperation to persuade the North to
come back to the nuclear talks.
"We encourage those who have influence with the regime in Pyongyang to use that
influence to convince the North to live up to its obligations, as -- you know,
focusing specifically on the 2005 joint statement in which it agreed to a
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said.
Under the joint statement signed in September 2005 between North Korea and five
other parties to the multilateral nuclear talks, including South Korea, the U.S.,
China, Japan and Russia, the North is supposed to dismantle its nuclear programs
in return for hefty economic aid and political benefits.
The six-party talks have been deadlocked since December over how to verify North
Korea's past and current nuclear activity.
"Where we got hung up was on verification," Wood said. "Well, it's certainly
static. There hasn't been movement. We're not seeing progress here."
North Korea rejected the proposal by Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special
representative for North Korea, to visit Pyongyang in early March when he toured
Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo for consultations on resumption of the six-party talks.
Observers suspect Pyongyang is jockeying for a bilateral dialogue with the U.S.
as an alternative to the stalled multilateral talks.
