ID :
65983
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 12:03
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/65983
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Lee, Obama to discuss denuclearizing N. Korea, strengthening alliance
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, June 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S.
President Barack Obama are expected to reaffirm their joint efforts to
denuclearize North Korea in their summit here Tuesday, as the North threatens to
bolster its nuclear arsenal despite international condemnations, South Korean
officials here said.
The leaders were expected to issue a joint statement on the South Korea-U.S.
alliance that will set out plans to transform their half-century-old relations
into a comprehensive, strategic partnership.
The so-called "Joint Vision" for the alliance will also reaffirm the U.S.
provision of extended deterrence to Seoul, which would place South Korea under
the U.S. nuclear umbrella against the threat of a North Korean nuclear attack.
"It will make North Korea realize that its possession of nuclear weapons will not
provide any leverage in dealing with South Korea, and also that it could lead to
its collapse if it ever tries to use them against the U.S. or its allies," Kim
Sung-han, professor of international relations at Seoul's Korea University, said
earlier.
North Korea set off a nuclear device on May 25, an action that was strongly
condemned in a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted last week imposing heavy
economic sanctions on the impoverished nation.
The South Korean president was expected to propose a five-nation dialogue,
excluding North Korea, who is boycotting the six-nation talks involving the two
Koreas the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.
"The five countries must gather and discuss reasons why North Korea must give up
its nuclear ambitions and what it can expect in return after doing so," Lee said
in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, published Saturday.
The five countries have held a series of disarmament talks with North Korea since
the nuclear dispute erupted in early 2003, but the talks have stalled since late
last year over how to verify a nuclear declaration the North presented last
summer. Following a U.N. condemnation of its April rocket launch, Pyongyang said
it would "never" rejoin the negotiations.
Pyongyang conducted its first atomic detonation in October 2006.
North Korea said last week that it will soon begin an uranium enrichment program
and restart its plutonium-based weapons program in protest against the U.N.
Security Council resolution.
Also on the agenda for the Lee-Obama summit will be the ratification of a
bilateral free trade agreement signed in June 2007, and joint efforts to fight
the global economic and financial crisis, according to officials accompanying the
South Korean leader.
Lee and Obama will hold a joint press conference following their summit talks.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
WASHINGTON, June 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S.
President Barack Obama are expected to reaffirm their joint efforts to
denuclearize North Korea in their summit here Tuesday, as the North threatens to
bolster its nuclear arsenal despite international condemnations, South Korean
officials here said.
The leaders were expected to issue a joint statement on the South Korea-U.S.
alliance that will set out plans to transform their half-century-old relations
into a comprehensive, strategic partnership.
The so-called "Joint Vision" for the alliance will also reaffirm the U.S.
provision of extended deterrence to Seoul, which would place South Korea under
the U.S. nuclear umbrella against the threat of a North Korean nuclear attack.
"It will make North Korea realize that its possession of nuclear weapons will not
provide any leverage in dealing with South Korea, and also that it could lead to
its collapse if it ever tries to use them against the U.S. or its allies," Kim
Sung-han, professor of international relations at Seoul's Korea University, said
earlier.
North Korea set off a nuclear device on May 25, an action that was strongly
condemned in a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted last week imposing heavy
economic sanctions on the impoverished nation.
The South Korean president was expected to propose a five-nation dialogue,
excluding North Korea, who is boycotting the six-nation talks involving the two
Koreas the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.
"The five countries must gather and discuss reasons why North Korea must give up
its nuclear ambitions and what it can expect in return after doing so," Lee said
in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, published Saturday.
The five countries have held a series of disarmament talks with North Korea since
the nuclear dispute erupted in early 2003, but the talks have stalled since late
last year over how to verify a nuclear declaration the North presented last
summer. Following a U.N. condemnation of its April rocket launch, Pyongyang said
it would "never" rejoin the negotiations.
Pyongyang conducted its first atomic detonation in October 2006.
North Korea said last week that it will soon begin an uranium enrichment program
and restart its plutonium-based weapons program in protest against the U.N.
Security Council resolution.
Also on the agenda for the Lee-Obama summit will be the ratification of a
bilateral free trade agreement signed in June 2007, and joint efforts to fight
the global economic and financial crisis, according to officials accompanying the
South Korean leader.
Lee and Obama will hold a joint press conference following their summit talks.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
