Posted on 04/14/2007 9:52:33 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
April 15, 2007
North Korea Takes No Apparent Action as Deadline Passes
By DAVID E. SANGER
WASHINGTON, April 14 — The first deadline for North Korea to shut down and seal its main facility for manufacturing nuclear weapons fuel expired Saturday, with no apparent move by the North to fulfill its commitments, while China asked angry officials in the Bush administration to show patience.
The inaction leaves President Bush vulnerable to attacks from hawks in his own party, who have argued that it was a mistake to return $25 million in frozen funds to the North Koreans — much of it believed to be from illicit sales of missiles and counterfeit currency — and who doubt that the North Koreans will stop producing bomb fuel and give up their existing weapons.
Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, called on North Korea in a statement on Saturday “to realize fully its commitments under the Feb. 13 agreement” by inviting back inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency and beginning to close down its Yongbyon nuclear facility. And the chief American negotiator dealing with the North, Christopher R. Hill, told reporters in Beijing: “We don’t have a lot of momentum right now. That is for sure.”
Mr. Hill has traveled over the past week to Japan, South Korea and China, where officials urged him to allow the North Koreans a little time. But in Washington, officials said they did not know if the Chinese had any indications that compliance was forthcoming.
A senior State Department official said in a telephone interview that it was “prudent to give this thing a few more days.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This a major F*ck-up by Bush admin. and Dems advocating appeasement of N. Kroea. I am sure they did not realize that N. Korea got brazen so early in the game, without trying to give the appearance of going along with U.S.'s expectation. That is really dumb.
Those who stupidly believed that N. Korea would be in good behavior this time around need to suffer more humiliation in the hands of Kim Jong-il's gang. That is the only way thee maginitude of their folly would sink to their bones. Only then, they can go back to more effective policy.
Ping!
OH I agree Tiger that one mess up idea by Bush adminiation
The way I see it, N. Korea is playing into GWB’s hands should he ever need to take action. The N. Koreans will have 0 credibility.
. . . . . Thomas Jefferson, Official Papers, opinion to President Washington, August 28, 1790.
Of course we have today no one in the State Dpt (or Congress) who is fit to carry Mr. Jefferson's shoes.
lol. What action is bush going to take? You've got to be kidding me.
But most likely the Korea situation will pass over into the next admin. The 6 nation talks were an ingenious move, for it takes it out of an N. Korea/US conflict, and we have enough potentially head to head conflicts out there right now.
Give a speech. What else can he do particularly with the dems controlling congress and the senate and the anti-war attitude in the USA now. I didn't read the whole agreement but was worried as soon as Bolton came out against it.
What an absolute, bumbling, imcompetent FOOL.
It really doesn’t matter which administration does the talking, its just the futility of it.
Talk is cheap and the Chinese, Russians, even the appeasers of South Korea’s government are ultimately not our friends.
Too much diplomatic talk in a really hostile world out there.
I guess we can wait and hold on this one some. I think the Iranians seem to be in higher gear on nukes right now but North Korea isn’t going away.
And for North Korea to be dealt with properly in the end, it will take Iran to de dealt with decisively.
Still in United Nations sanctions, diplo talk with Russian and Chinese dictators who benefit from a nuclear Iran tying the United States down while they make mischief on their borders (Taiwan, Georgia, Ukraine)
At the end of the day, nothing is changed, and the Asians again make fools out of the Americans who by now should have learned how to negotiate in East Asia, PARTICULARLY against the North Koreans.
There is no excuse for it.
You’d think that after that documentry that aired a month or so ago would show just what kind of nut cases run that country and that your just not going to reason with the likes of them.It’s the same with Peloshi playing in the hands of the other menace we have to deal with in the mid east.The whole scene in Team America where Hans Brix gets fed to the shark says it all.These people always have a dagger behind their back in one hand while reaching out to shake our hand with the other.
......N. Korea is playing into GWB’s hands .....
Your assessment is correct. W gave Peace a chance and he apparently got slapped.
Kim might be saving face by not meeting the deadline and will one day just call up the inspectors and ask where they have been.
Either way W is ahead.
Red China is laughing up its sleeve at the naivete displayed by the Bush Administration's new version of a Sunshine policy.
Bush really let me down here. There is no point in even talking to these punks.
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