Posted on 10/21/2002 7:26:55 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
North Korea yesterday said it wanted talks with the US about its nuclear weapons programme but only if Washington softened its hostile stance.
The comments signalled North Korea's desire to use its nuclear capabilities as a bargaining tool in negotiations with the US. However, James Kelly, US undersecretary of state, said there would be no talks until North Korea "verifiably" scrapped its weapons programme.
Washington has warned there will be "no replay" of 1994, when the US offered billions of dollars of energy aid in return for North Korea halting weapons development. North Korea's stance means it remains on a collision course with Washington over the secret uranium enrichment programme that the US said it admitted to during talks earlier this month.
Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's second most senior leader, made the offer of negotiations during talks with South Korean officials in Pyongyang yesterday.
Paik Jin-hyun, professor of international relations at Seoul National University, said the North was using nuclear weapons to "blackmail" the US into supporting its crumbling economy.
"North Korea seems to misunderstand the nature of the Bush administration," Mr Paik said. "What may have worked with [President Bill] Clinton will not work with [President George W.] Bush. Trying to use nuclear weapons to blackmail this US government. .. is the worst possible tactic."
Debate continued yesterday in the Bush administration and between Washington and its Asian allies about how to tackle North Korea. Colin Powell, US secretary of state, said Pyongyang's violation of its pledge to halt weapons development meant the 1994 deal - known as the Agreed Framework - was dead.
However, Washington said no decision had been made about whether to scrap the energy aid that the US and its allies provide to North Korea as part of the deal.
The US supplies 500,000 tons of fuel oil to energy-starved North Korea each year and is building a $5bn nuclear power station in the communist state, with help from South Korea, Japan and the European Union.
Some in the US administration want aid suspended but South Korea is reluctant to scrap the programme.
Withdrawal of aid would worsen the already chronic electricity shortages inside North Korea and risk seeing the economy collapse.
Analysts said economic sanctions were one of the only weapons available for the US against North Korea if military action and a negotiated deal were ruled out.
Yoriko Kawaguchi, Japan's foreign minister, tightened the noose around Pyongyang yesterday when she said Tokyo did "not intend to push for progress" in normalising relations with North Korea "without progress on security-related issues". Japan has offered billions of dollars worth of aid to North Korea subject to normalised ties.
In the absence of US negotiations with Pyongyang, Japan is under pressure to use its diplomatic channel to help tackle the North.
Sorry, Clintoon is not in control anymore... President Bush is and this is his answer:
"NO NERGOTIATIONS"
These little clowns don't act nice to anyone unless there's something else going on behind the scenes.
Some in the US administration want aid suspended........withdrawal of aid would worsen the already chronic electricity shortages inside North Korea and risk seeing the economy collapse.
Well, duh! When you have your boot-heel on the head of a snake, you don't let it up.
Jimmah Cahtah and Billybob Klinton let them up. Now it's time to grind them under our heel.
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That the North Koreans could even remotely imagine this plan would work says a great deal about the Clinton administration...
So let the economy collapse! -- then send aid to help them restructure into a capitalistic economy.
Why do we keep prolonging the misery of the general populations of failing dictatorships and socialistic governments? Let them fail, die a quick death, then give them aid.
Clinton has emboldened many potential enemies of U.S.. Al Qaeda, China, and N. Korea. All apparently thought that U.S. is a soft-corrupt power which they can take down with a little more efforts.
They did not realize that Bush brought in different kind of people in charge of U.S. gov. Bush erected a brick wall. This time it won't be easy.
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