ID :
76736
Mon, 08/24/2009 - 17:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/76736
The shortlink copeid
U.S. says U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang not to affect inter-Korean tour projects
By Lee Chi-dong and Tony Chang
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. diplomat in charge of enforcing sanctions on North Korea expressed support on Monday for recent moves by the two Koreas to resume cross-border business ties, but emphasized that the ultimate goal should be to revive the moribund denuclearization process.
Philip Goldberg, coordinator for the implementation of U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1874 adopted after the North's nuclear test in May, said inter-Korean
tourism projects, if restarted, will not impede the international community's
efforts to impose sanctions on Pyongyang.
The North agreed last week with South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Group to resume
suspended tour programs to Mount Kumgang on its east coast and the ancient border
city of Kaesong, a deal that has rekindled concerns over a possible steady inflow
of cash to the communist regime. The South Korean government is still reviewing
the civilian-led compromise.
"My assessment is that at the moment these are issues outside of that resolution.
And there are economic and humanitarian developments that are taken into account
in the resolution as well," Goldberg told reporters after meeting with South
Korea's top nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac. The U.S. official arrived here on
Sunday for a two-day trip, leading an inter-agency team composed of officials
from the Treasury Department, the Defense Department, and the National Security
Council at the White House.
Wi said the U.S. team's visit was "very timely," apparently referring to efforts
by the allies to coordinate on how to deal with the North.
Pyongyang has made a series of goodwill gestures in recent weeks after months of
brinkmanship highlighted by a second nuclear test and missile launches. It handed
over two detained American journalists to former U.S. President Bill Clinton
early this month and also released a South Korean worker. North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il sent special envoys to pay respects to late South Korean president Kim
Dae-jung over the weekend, and delivered through them a verbal message to
President Lee Myung-bak regarding improving inter-Korean relations.
"Our goal is to return to the process of denuclearization, to talks aimed at the
goals that are laid out in the U.N. resolution," Goldberg said. "If a reduction
in tension can lead to that, that would be a good thing."
He said that there would be no let-up in enforcing sanctions on the North, however.
"Right now, we are concentrating on the implementation and full implementation of
the resolution," he said.
Goldberg reiterated Washington's position that it is willing to talk bilaterally
with Pyongyang, but only in the context of the six-way talks that also involve
South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan. The North had announced in April that it
would not return to the multilateral talks, arguing they only serve the interest
of regional powers.
"What we've said is that we want to return to the six-party framework but that
bilateral conversations would be ... something that would be handled within that
context," he said. "So, we are not saying that there won't be bilateral contacts
but that they should be within the (six-party) framework. That is still something
that we want to see happen."
The comments come in response to Pyongyang's continued appeal for one-on-one
negotiations with Washington.
The North's foreign ministry had said in a statement issued on July 25 that there
was "a specific and reserved form of dialogue that can address the current
situation."
Last week, North Korea made a more specific offer through New Mexico Governor and
former U.N. envoy Bill Richardson, who retains personal ties with North Koreans
and has often delivered messages from Pyongyang to Washington.
In a statement issued after a meeting with North Korean diplomats from the
country's U.N. mission, Richardson said they "indicated that North Korea is ready
for a new dialogue with the United States regarding the nuclear issue."
"The question is whether to proceed with face-to-face bilateral talks, as the
North Koreans prefer, or to utilize the six-party framework that the United
States has advocated. The North Koreans clearly want bilateral talks and not the
six-party framework," he added.
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. diplomat in charge of enforcing sanctions on North Korea expressed support on Monday for recent moves by the two Koreas to resume cross-border business ties, but emphasized that the ultimate goal should be to revive the moribund denuclearization process.
Philip Goldberg, coordinator for the implementation of U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1874 adopted after the North's nuclear test in May, said inter-Korean
tourism projects, if restarted, will not impede the international community's
efforts to impose sanctions on Pyongyang.
The North agreed last week with South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Group to resume
suspended tour programs to Mount Kumgang on its east coast and the ancient border
city of Kaesong, a deal that has rekindled concerns over a possible steady inflow
of cash to the communist regime. The South Korean government is still reviewing
the civilian-led compromise.
"My assessment is that at the moment these are issues outside of that resolution.
And there are economic and humanitarian developments that are taken into account
in the resolution as well," Goldberg told reporters after meeting with South
Korea's top nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac. The U.S. official arrived here on
Sunday for a two-day trip, leading an inter-agency team composed of officials
from the Treasury Department, the Defense Department, and the National Security
Council at the White House.
Wi said the U.S. team's visit was "very timely," apparently referring to efforts
by the allies to coordinate on how to deal with the North.
Pyongyang has made a series of goodwill gestures in recent weeks after months of
brinkmanship highlighted by a second nuclear test and missile launches. It handed
over two detained American journalists to former U.S. President Bill Clinton
early this month and also released a South Korean worker. North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il sent special envoys to pay respects to late South Korean president Kim
Dae-jung over the weekend, and delivered through them a verbal message to
President Lee Myung-bak regarding improving inter-Korean relations.
"Our goal is to return to the process of denuclearization, to talks aimed at the
goals that are laid out in the U.N. resolution," Goldberg said. "If a reduction
in tension can lead to that, that would be a good thing."
He said that there would be no let-up in enforcing sanctions on the North, however.
"Right now, we are concentrating on the implementation and full implementation of
the resolution," he said.
Goldberg reiterated Washington's position that it is willing to talk bilaterally
with Pyongyang, but only in the context of the six-way talks that also involve
South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan. The North had announced in April that it
would not return to the multilateral talks, arguing they only serve the interest
of regional powers.
"What we've said is that we want to return to the six-party framework but that
bilateral conversations would be ... something that would be handled within that
context," he said. "So, we are not saying that there won't be bilateral contacts
but that they should be within the (six-party) framework. That is still something
that we want to see happen."
The comments come in response to Pyongyang's continued appeal for one-on-one
negotiations with Washington.
The North's foreign ministry had said in a statement issued on July 25 that there
was "a specific and reserved form of dialogue that can address the current
situation."
Last week, North Korea made a more specific offer through New Mexico Governor and
former U.N. envoy Bill Richardson, who retains personal ties with North Koreans
and has often delivered messages from Pyongyang to Washington.
In a statement issued after a meeting with North Korean diplomats from the
country's U.N. mission, Richardson said they "indicated that North Korea is ready
for a new dialogue with the United States regarding the nuclear issue."
"The question is whether to proceed with face-to-face bilateral talks, as the
North Koreans prefer, or to utilize the six-party framework that the United
States has advocated. The North Koreans clearly want bilateral talks and not the
six-party framework," he added.
