Posted on 07/21/2004 8:26:48 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms control and International Security John Bolton said Wednesday, "The seriousness of the more detailed U.S. proposal presented by the U.S. during the last round of six-party talks should put to rest any reservations that our side is holding a pattern until the next U.S. presidential election." Undersecretary Bolton said during a lecture at Yonsei University that top leaders in the U.S. are willing to talk with Pyongyang to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem.
The undersecretary said that Libyan leader Ghadafi had abandoned the country’s weapons of mass destruction in return for compensation. Now, it is time for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to make a strategic choice, Bolton emphasized. Undersecretary Bolton asked the North to remember what U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice said during her visit to South Korea. Rice said the U.S. wanted North Korea leader Kim Jong-il to meet and discuss issues with Ghadafi. The undersecretary said the reason the North Korean leader should believe the U.S. is that Washington keeps it promises, as was evident in the Libyan case. Bolton also indirectly hinted at possible compensation for the North if Pyongyang scraps its nuclear weapons program, saying that after Libya gave up its weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. and the international community lifted oil and traveling sanctions against Libya so that the downtown of Tripoli is bustling with tourists and the U.S. and Libya are rebuilding diplomatic relations, with a U.S. liaison office established in the Libyan capital.
In connection with how to apply the Libyan model to North Korea, the undersecretary stressed that the U.S. wants to solve the North Korean issue through the six party talks and Washington would not repeat its past mistake in the first nuclear crisis in 1994 in which the U.S. offered “carrots” and achieved only a insignificant result of a temporary nuclear program freeze. Bolton said that the U.S would not repeat the process of the first nuclear crisis and North Korea should not seek a patchwork solution.
Undersecretary Bolton said that he hoped the North would closely consider and accept the U.S. proposal made during the third round of the six party talks. The U.S. would pursue a resolution to the North Korean nuclear problem through multilateral negotiations, despite some critical voices, the undersecretary stressed.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Ping!
But realities are realities, and preoccupation with Iraq will make a strong push on the North Korea issue anytime soon very problematic.
Throw Iran into that picture too.
bttt
"We have a saying: 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' We will not be fooled again" "Our experience with Libya shows that a freeze is unnecessary, and moreover, would simply delay the time when the people of North Korea could reap the benefits of rejoining the international community"
"The principle, though of not rewarding outlaw regimes merely for coming back into compliance with their past obligations is an important one for the United States to uphold. It is not only anathema to our values -- it is a bad policy."
"So there is no misunderstanding -- North Korea's continue denial of its uranium enrichment program precludes a solution to this problem," - AFP
"Kim still fails to recognize that his pursuit of WMD make the communist regime less, not more, secure."
"The seriousness of the more detailed U.S. proposal presented at the last round of six-party talks should put to rest any reservations that our side is in a holding pattern until the next U.S. presidential election." - Korea Times
Bttt
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