ID :
90663
Fri, 11/20/2009 - 10:08
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/90663
The shortlink copeid
Obama, Lee press N. Korea on nuclear ambitions+
SEOUL, Nov. 19 Kyodo - U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak on Thursday pressed North Korea to move toward scrapping its nuclear programs, with Obama saying he will send his top North Korea policy strategist to the North on Dec. 8.
Lee said at a joint news conference with Obama after their talks in Seoul that
they reconfirmed the two countries' solid security posture, including the U.S.
policy of keeping South Korea under its protective nuclear umbrella.
He also said he and Obama agreed to offer North Korea a ''grand bargain''
package of political and economic incentives for a one-step, irreversible
dismantling of Pyongyang's nuclear programs, as proposed by Lee during his
visit to the United States in September.
''We fully share the view that the North Korean nuclear issue requires a
definite and comprehensive resolution, as I described in our 'grand bargain,'
and agreed to closely consult on how to elaborate and implement this
approach,'' the South Korean leader said.
Obama said he will send Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North
Korea policy, to the North on Dec. 8 as part of efforts to bring the North back
to the six-party denuclearization talks.
''The thing I want to emphasize is that President Lee and I both agree on the
need to break the pattern that has existed in the past,'' he said.
Describing that pattern, he said, ''North Korea behaves in a provocative
fashion, and then is willing to return to talks; it talks for a while and then
leaves the talks seeking further concessions, and there's never actually any
progress on the core issues.''
In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China welcomes and supports
dialogue between the United States and North Korea, and said it hopes
Bosworth's visit will contribute to the resumption of the stalled talks at the
''earliest date.''
On the proposed package of political and economic incentives, spokesman Qin
Gang said China is ''willing to communicate with relevant parties, including
the South Korean side...on different plans and suggestions.''
North Korea agreed in September 2005 to scrap its nuclear programs in an
aid-for-denuclearization deal struck at the six-way talks involving the two
Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
But it withdrew from the multilateral talks in April to protest a U.N. Security
Council condemnation of its rocket launch, which was widely regarded as a
long-range missile test, and added to the tension in May by detonating a
nuclear device.
In addition to the reaffirmation of the bilateral defense posture, Obama and
Lee agreed to further develop the partnership between the two countries to make
it a model for a ''strategic alliance of the 21st century.''
''As part of these efforts, we agreed to have our foreign and defense ministers
to meet and discuss specific ways to develop our alliance to the future
sometime next year, which marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the
Korean War,'' Lee said.
In the economic sphere, Obama and Lee agreed to press ahead with the
long-delayed ratification of a bilateral free trade agreement signed in 2007.
''I am committed to seeing the two countries work together to move this
agreement forward,'' Obama said.
Ratification has been held up over concerns in some circles in the United
States that it lacks provisions to ensure better market access for U.S. auto
exports.
To expedite the process, Lee said his government is ready to discuss U.S.
concerns about the auto trade imbalance. ''If there is a problem in an auto
trade in the United States, we are ready to discuss the issue again,'' he said.
But South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae Young later suggested
Seoul is only willing to listen to U.S. concerns, saying, ''Our government's
position is there is no renegotiation.''
During his campaign for president, Obama had voiced concern over the FTA with
South Korea, calling it a ''badly flawed'' deal that would hurt U.S. workers
and suggesting it be reexamined, particularly in the field of automobiles.
South Korea has defended the FTA as a balanced agreement that reflects the
interests of both sides.
Obama was in South Korea on the final leg of a four-country swing around Asia
that also took him to Japan, Singapore and China. He left Seoul for the United
States later Thursday.
==Kyodo
2009-11-20 00:34:08
Lee said at a joint news conference with Obama after their talks in Seoul that
they reconfirmed the two countries' solid security posture, including the U.S.
policy of keeping South Korea under its protective nuclear umbrella.
He also said he and Obama agreed to offer North Korea a ''grand bargain''
package of political and economic incentives for a one-step, irreversible
dismantling of Pyongyang's nuclear programs, as proposed by Lee during his
visit to the United States in September.
''We fully share the view that the North Korean nuclear issue requires a
definite and comprehensive resolution, as I described in our 'grand bargain,'
and agreed to closely consult on how to elaborate and implement this
approach,'' the South Korean leader said.
Obama said he will send Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North
Korea policy, to the North on Dec. 8 as part of efforts to bring the North back
to the six-party denuclearization talks.
''The thing I want to emphasize is that President Lee and I both agree on the
need to break the pattern that has existed in the past,'' he said.
Describing that pattern, he said, ''North Korea behaves in a provocative
fashion, and then is willing to return to talks; it talks for a while and then
leaves the talks seeking further concessions, and there's never actually any
progress on the core issues.''
In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China welcomes and supports
dialogue between the United States and North Korea, and said it hopes
Bosworth's visit will contribute to the resumption of the stalled talks at the
''earliest date.''
On the proposed package of political and economic incentives, spokesman Qin
Gang said China is ''willing to communicate with relevant parties, including
the South Korean side...on different plans and suggestions.''
North Korea agreed in September 2005 to scrap its nuclear programs in an
aid-for-denuclearization deal struck at the six-way talks involving the two
Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
But it withdrew from the multilateral talks in April to protest a U.N. Security
Council condemnation of its rocket launch, which was widely regarded as a
long-range missile test, and added to the tension in May by detonating a
nuclear device.
In addition to the reaffirmation of the bilateral defense posture, Obama and
Lee agreed to further develop the partnership between the two countries to make
it a model for a ''strategic alliance of the 21st century.''
''As part of these efforts, we agreed to have our foreign and defense ministers
to meet and discuss specific ways to develop our alliance to the future
sometime next year, which marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the
Korean War,'' Lee said.
In the economic sphere, Obama and Lee agreed to press ahead with the
long-delayed ratification of a bilateral free trade agreement signed in 2007.
''I am committed to seeing the two countries work together to move this
agreement forward,'' Obama said.
Ratification has been held up over concerns in some circles in the United
States that it lacks provisions to ensure better market access for U.S. auto
exports.
To expedite the process, Lee said his government is ready to discuss U.S.
concerns about the auto trade imbalance. ''If there is a problem in an auto
trade in the United States, we are ready to discuss the issue again,'' he said.
But South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae Young later suggested
Seoul is only willing to listen to U.S. concerns, saying, ''Our government's
position is there is no renegotiation.''
During his campaign for president, Obama had voiced concern over the FTA with
South Korea, calling it a ''badly flawed'' deal that would hurt U.S. workers
and suggesting it be reexamined, particularly in the field of automobiles.
South Korea has defended the FTA as a balanced agreement that reflects the
interests of both sides.
Obama was in South Korea on the final leg of a four-country swing around Asia
that also took him to Japan, Singapore and China. He left Seoul for the United
States later Thursday.
==Kyodo
2009-11-20 00:34:08
