Posted on 01/05/2007 7:45:35 PM PST by NormsRevenge
TOKYO - Japanese and U.S. officials warned Friday of tougher measures against North Korea if the isolated communist nation conducts a second nuclear test.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that a second nuclear test "no doubt would deepen its isolation."
Rice and South Korea's foreign minister, Song Min-Soon, agreed at a news conference in Washington that their governments want negotiations on North Korea's nuclear program resumed.
"If North Korea is prepared to return in a more constructive spirit" the talks could be reopened fairly soon, Rice said. But she added, "We know of no substantive response from the North Koreans."
The remarks came amid U.S. media reports that Pyongyang has appeared to have readied for another nuclear test and that the preparation steps were similar to those taken before its first nuclear detonation on Oct. 9. But Japanese and South Korean officials have not reported any signs that the North was preparing for another test.
The talks, held last month in Beijing, would swap economic incentives and a U.S. assurance of respect for North Korea's security for cessation of the nuclear weapons program that produced a nuclear test nearly two months ago.
Tokyo urged its neighbor to refrain from any developments that would stoke regional tensions.
"We think it is essential that North Korea should stop further nuclear testing and they should abandon all their nuclear programs," said Nori Shikata, assistant press secretary for Japan's Foreign Ministry. "If they conduct another nuclear test, then the international community, including Japan, will take additional measures."
Shikata did not say what other steps might be taken, but said they would be pursued through the United Nations, which authorized trade restrictions against North Korea after its October test.
Rice said "there is intensive discussion among the parties about the resumption of the six-party talks."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said negotiators were looking for "clear commitments, clear indications, clear actions" that North Korea had made the "strategic choice" to abandon its nuclear weapons.
"Obviously, conducting a second nuclear test sends the opposite signal and very clearly indicates that they have chosen to go down the pathway of deeper isolation for North Korea and the North Korean people," McCormack said.
But officials in Japan and South Korea said earlier Friday they saw no particular signs that the North was readying for a second test.
"Some unidentified activities have been detected around a suspected test site but so far there are no particular indications directly linked to an additional nuclear test," said Cho Hee-yong, a spokesman for South Korea's Foreign Ministry.
A South Korean military intelligence official said vehicle and personnel activities are constantly spotted at a suspected test site but that it was too early to say whether they indicated an imminent nuclear test, the Yonhap news agency reported, without identifying the official.
North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye Gwan said in December that his country would bolster its atomic arsenal and further improve its deterrent in response to international pressure.
The North has hailed its test as "an auspicious event in the national history," and says it serves as a key deterrent against a possible U.S. attack. Washington has repeatedly denied that it plans to invade.
In 2005, North Korea pledged to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees and aid but no progress has been made in implementing that accord.
A key sticking point at the international talks has been North Korea's demand that the U.S. lift financial restrictions imposed on it in response to the impoverished nation's alleged counterfeiting of $100 bills and money laundering.
___
Associated Press writers Barry Schweid in Washington, Carl Freire in Tokyo and Kwang-tae Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.
A tank unit of the Republic of Korea Army conduct the first drill of the new year to prepare for a possible North Korean surprise attack near the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas in Yeoncheon, north of Seoul, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007. South Korea said Friday there are no particular signs that North Korea plans to conduct a second nuclear test, dismissing a media report on a possible nuclear test. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Kim Doo-yoon)
Activity has been detected near the site of North Korea's first nuclear test but there are no signs yet of preparations for a second test, a South Korean foreign ministry official has said.(AFP)
Yeah, Bush has already stopped sending iPods to NK; next punishment will be no more CD burners.
Don't make us S...S...S...Sanction you N.K- keep it up and we'll also throw in some dirty looks as well http://sacredscoop.com
Ummm... I have made a strategic choice to give up sugar this year, but nobody really believes that will ever happen.
You might like to see this if you haven't already.
Its great that even Google Maps shows us where to bomb. Wonder if our defense department has internet access and someone smart that counts the number of times we are threatened?
Scary isn't it..
Weak and weaker.
Oh no, complaining through diplomatic channels has accomplished so much thus far. Kim Jong Il, a guy who has starved 2 million of his people, is really afraid of sanctions. /sarc
I have lost confidence in our goverment doing something about NK or Iran... something tells me they could explode a nuke over our heads and still we would sit of our Nukes threatening to pass a tougher resolution.
OH BOY Japanese are not amused with Chia Pet
And Kim Jong Il is saying: "What do you mean,toughfel measules?"
"Wir you send me two nasty rettews instead of wan?"
Hanz Brix ? HA Ha Ha Ha!
Someone needs to make an accurate shot with a Barret .50 cal.
And soon.
Is this the 100th or 101st warning?
I have lost count. :-)
'splain that to me, please Norm? Pit?
invert the p in pit with the sh in shot .. ;-)
and the sh with the p. :-o
LOL! Thanks, Norm!
I got it.... thanks! LOL.
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