U.S. seeks 'strong, unified action' against N. Korea: Steinberg

(ATTN: UPDATES with arrival, comments, other details; CHANGES headline)
By Lee Chi-dong, Tony Chang
SEOUL, June 2 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg called
Tuesday for a "strong and unified action" against North Korea for its nuclear
test last week, hinting that Washington will push for financial sanctions on the
cash-strapped communist nation in cooperation with other related countries.
He pointed out regional powers agree on the seriousness of North Korea's
unrelenting provocations, and that the U.N. Security Council is inching toward a
compromise on how to punish Pyongyang.
The 15-member council is negotiating a new resolution to punish the North for its
detonation of a nuclear device at an underground site on May 25. North Korea also
test-launched several short-range missiles and is apparently preparing to fire
another long-range missile. Pyongyang is banned from nuclear and ballistic
missile-related activities under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted
after its first nuclear test in 2006.
A draft resolution submitted by the U.S. calls for enforcing existing sanctions
and imposing new ones, including a freeze on North Korean assets abroad and
denial of access to international banking and financial services.
"We are seeing a very clear sense by all the five members of the six-party talks
that they are deeply concerned by the actions of North Korea. They see this as
destabilizing and dangerous for the region," Steinberg told reporters upon
arrival at a Seoul airport from Tokyo. He is leading an inter-agency delegation
on a mission to review the aftermath of North Korea's second nuclear test and to
discuss the next step.
The U.S. team includes Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey, in charge of
cracking down on terrorism-related funds, Wallace Gregson, assistant secretary of
defense for Asian Pacific affairs, Jeffrey Bader, senior director for Asian
Affairs at the National Security Council, and Stephen Bosworth, special
representative on North Korea policy.
On prospects for discussions at the U.N., the deputy secretary said he is
"confident from hearing from Ambassador (Susan) Rice in New York that we are
coming around a common approach."
"I am sure we are going to get even more common efforts as we go forward," he said.
Asked whether the U.S. will seek its own financial sanctions on the North, he
said, "Quite the contrary. We are working closely with partners in the region. We
are convinced that the only effective way to convince North Korea to take a
different approach is to work collaboratively."
On Wednesday, the delegation plans to meet South Korean Foreign Minister Yu
Myung-hwan, Vice Foreign Minister Kwon Jong-rak, Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee,
and Kim Sung-hwan, senior secretary to the president for foreign affairs and
security.
The U.S. officials were initially scheduled to leave South Korea for China on
Wednesday, but decided to extend their stay here until Friday, according to the
U.S. Embassy here, which gave no clear reason. They canceled a planned stop in
Moscow.
South Korean officials said the U.S. team is unlikely to visit North Korea during
its ongoing regional trip.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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