ID :
63387
Sat, 05/30/2009 - 23:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/63387
The shortlink copeid
(ROUNDUP) N. Korea blasted at Asian security forum, but with room to breathe
By Sam Kim
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan pledged
Saturday to press North Korea until it stops stoking military tension to win
concessions, while China called for composure in dealing with its intransigent
communist ally.
The first-ever trilateral meeting between the defense ministers of South Korea,
the U.S. and Japan came after North Korea defied their warnings and went ahead
with its second nuclear test on Monday.
Pyongyang, which prompted U.N. sanctions after it performed its first atomic test
in 2006, is also apparently moving to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile
that in theory is capable of hitting Alaska and Hawaii.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said patience was running out with
North Korea, calling its leadership "mistaken" to think it could extract
concessions by raising tension in the region.
"North Korea may have mistakenly believed that it could perhaps be rewarded. But
that is no longer the case." he said after meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on the sidelines of an
Asian security forum here.
Lee, who said the three ministers converged on his view, said earlier in the day
after his bilateral meeting with Gates that South Korea and the U.S. were "tired"
of warning North Korea.
"We agreed that we are tired of telling the same stories to North Korea, and that
there is nothing for North Korea to gain from its wrong behavior," he told South
Korean journalists.
The U.S. has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North
Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce rather than a
peace treaty.
Arguing South Korea is preparing a naval blockade by expanding its role in a
U.S.-led anti-proliferation campaign, the North recently nullified the truce and
warned of an armed conflict near their western sea border.
Lee said the U.S. and South Korea would "sternly" respond if North Korea provokes
such an attack.
"A strong response has been agreed on by the U.S. and South Korea against any
active military provocation," he said.
Gates, who said his country will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear power,
said he was hopeful that the three countries would bolster their cooperation in
addressing the North Korean intransigence.
"It is important for the Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States to work
together, along with others, to combat this problem multilaterally," he said. "My
sense, being here this weekend, is that there's a commitment to do just that."
The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official name.
"We were able to agree on close trilateral cooperation on response toward North
Korea," Hamada said alongside his counterparts. "We would like to further
develop our trilateral cooperation."
The annual security forum, known as the "Shangri-la Dialogue," was arranged
before North Korea conducted its second test and fired a series of short-range
missiles on its east coast.
The Asia Security Summit drew top-level defense officials from over two dozen
countries in the region, including China which sent a deputy chief of its general
staff.
Assessing that the North's nuclear test has complicated regional security risks,
China called on the members of the forum and the U.S. to exercise composure.
"We hope that all parties concerned will remain cool-headed and take measured
measures to address the problem," Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian said.
Ralph Cossa, a U.S. political analyst, said China -- which fought alongside North
Korea in the Korean War and is considered its main benefactor -- appears to be
trying to give Pyongyang room to breathe.
"The best you (China) can say after a nuclear weapons test is that it further
complicates a situation," Cossa, head of the Honolulu-based Pacific Forum of the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, said.
"It means you're not really concerned about it, you're not taking it seriously,
you're not trying to send a message, or you're sending a message that you don't
want to send a message," he said.
But China and the United States, who held a closed-door meeting Saturday morning,
converged on the idea that any attempt by North Korea to proliferate its weapons
technology is unacceptable.
"We are resolutely opposed to nuclear proliferation," Ma said.
"We would hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences of such
action," Gates said in a separate address.
The two countries are members of six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing North
Korea, along with South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Russia did not take part in this year's forum, which kicked off Friday night with
a speech by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
During the forum, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to step up their annual review
of their efforts to transfer the wartime operational control of South Korean
troops from Washington to Seoul.
Washington is scheduled to return the command to Seoul in April 2012. It has been
in the hands of the U.S. military in South Korea since being relinquished at the
onset of the Korean War.
Its planned transfer has been a subject of criticism among South Korean
conservatives, who fear it will undermine the joint deterrence capabilities
against North Korea.
The second nuclear test by North Korea has renewed the fears, and Lee said he and
his U.S. counterpart took note of it when they met.
"We have agreed that we will keep vigilance over North Korean threats as we
review our steps in restoring the wartime operational command," he said, adding
the agreement will undergo documentation.
But he dismissed speculation that their talks pointed to a possible delay of the
transfer of wartime operational command.
Peacetime control was returned in 1994.
The U.S. downplays the ability of North Korea to miniaturize nuclear bombs and
tip inter-continental ballistic missiles with them. But Seoul and Washington say
Pyongyang apparently improved its missile technology when it fired a long-range
rocket on April 5.
North Korea says it put a satellite with the launch, but the U.S. and its allies
say nothing entered space, calling it a test of missile technology banned under a
U.N. resolution.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan pledged
Saturday to press North Korea until it stops stoking military tension to win
concessions, while China called for composure in dealing with its intransigent
communist ally.
The first-ever trilateral meeting between the defense ministers of South Korea,
the U.S. and Japan came after North Korea defied their warnings and went ahead
with its second nuclear test on Monday.
Pyongyang, which prompted U.N. sanctions after it performed its first atomic test
in 2006, is also apparently moving to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile
that in theory is capable of hitting Alaska and Hawaii.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said patience was running out with
North Korea, calling its leadership "mistaken" to think it could extract
concessions by raising tension in the region.
"North Korea may have mistakenly believed that it could perhaps be rewarded. But
that is no longer the case." he said after meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on the sidelines of an
Asian security forum here.
Lee, who said the three ministers converged on his view, said earlier in the day
after his bilateral meeting with Gates that South Korea and the U.S. were "tired"
of warning North Korea.
"We agreed that we are tired of telling the same stories to North Korea, and that
there is nothing for North Korea to gain from its wrong behavior," he told South
Korean journalists.
The U.S. has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North
Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce rather than a
peace treaty.
Arguing South Korea is preparing a naval blockade by expanding its role in a
U.S.-led anti-proliferation campaign, the North recently nullified the truce and
warned of an armed conflict near their western sea border.
Lee said the U.S. and South Korea would "sternly" respond if North Korea provokes
such an attack.
"A strong response has been agreed on by the U.S. and South Korea against any
active military provocation," he said.
Gates, who said his country will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear power,
said he was hopeful that the three countries would bolster their cooperation in
addressing the North Korean intransigence.
"It is important for the Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States to work
together, along with others, to combat this problem multilaterally," he said. "My
sense, being here this weekend, is that there's a commitment to do just that."
The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official name.
"We were able to agree on close trilateral cooperation on response toward North
Korea," Hamada said alongside his counterparts. "We would like to further
develop our trilateral cooperation."
The annual security forum, known as the "Shangri-la Dialogue," was arranged
before North Korea conducted its second test and fired a series of short-range
missiles on its east coast.
The Asia Security Summit drew top-level defense officials from over two dozen
countries in the region, including China which sent a deputy chief of its general
staff.
Assessing that the North's nuclear test has complicated regional security risks,
China called on the members of the forum and the U.S. to exercise composure.
"We hope that all parties concerned will remain cool-headed and take measured
measures to address the problem," Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian said.
Ralph Cossa, a U.S. political analyst, said China -- which fought alongside North
Korea in the Korean War and is considered its main benefactor -- appears to be
trying to give Pyongyang room to breathe.
"The best you (China) can say after a nuclear weapons test is that it further
complicates a situation," Cossa, head of the Honolulu-based Pacific Forum of the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, said.
"It means you're not really concerned about it, you're not taking it seriously,
you're not trying to send a message, or you're sending a message that you don't
want to send a message," he said.
But China and the United States, who held a closed-door meeting Saturday morning,
converged on the idea that any attempt by North Korea to proliferate its weapons
technology is unacceptable.
"We are resolutely opposed to nuclear proliferation," Ma said.
"We would hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences of such
action," Gates said in a separate address.
The two countries are members of six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing North
Korea, along with South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Russia did not take part in this year's forum, which kicked off Friday night with
a speech by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
During the forum, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to step up their annual review
of their efforts to transfer the wartime operational control of South Korean
troops from Washington to Seoul.
Washington is scheduled to return the command to Seoul in April 2012. It has been
in the hands of the U.S. military in South Korea since being relinquished at the
onset of the Korean War.
Its planned transfer has been a subject of criticism among South Korean
conservatives, who fear it will undermine the joint deterrence capabilities
against North Korea.
The second nuclear test by North Korea has renewed the fears, and Lee said he and
his U.S. counterpart took note of it when they met.
"We have agreed that we will keep vigilance over North Korean threats as we
review our steps in restoring the wartime operational command," he said, adding
the agreement will undergo documentation.
But he dismissed speculation that their talks pointed to a possible delay of the
transfer of wartime operational command.
Peacetime control was returned in 1994.
The U.S. downplays the ability of North Korea to miniaturize nuclear bombs and
tip inter-continental ballistic missiles with them. But Seoul and Washington say
Pyongyang apparently improved its missile technology when it fired a long-range
rocket on April 5.
North Korea says it put a satellite with the launch, but the U.S. and its allies
say nothing entered space, calling it a test of missile technology banned under a
U.N. resolution.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
