America says the right things but is it all talk?

[Hankaveli]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050211/D886F6O80.html

Feb 11, 1:03 PM (ET)

By DEB RIECHMANN

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration said Friday that it wasn't interested in one-on-one talks with North Korea about its nuclear programs outside the six-party negotiations involving the communist nation's neighbors.

"It's not an issue between North Korea and the United States. It's a regional issue," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "And it's an issue that impacts all of its neighbors."

North Korea has plenty of opportunity to talk to the United States within six-party talks, McClellan said.

In an interview with a South Korean newspaper Friday, North Korea's U.N. envoy demanded bilateral talks with the United States

"We will return to the six-nation talks when we see a reason to do so and the conditions are ripe," Han Sung Ryol told Seoul's Hankyoreh newspaper in an interview published Friday. "If the United States moves to have direct dialogue with us, we can take that as a signal that the United States is changing its hostile policy toward us."

U.S. officials believe North Korea, which is seeking bilateral talks with the United States, may have from four to two dozen nuclear devices, depending on the assumptions used about the bombs' designs.

The United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia have struggled to arrange a fourth round of talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programs. The last round was held in June. A South Korean delegation is due in Washington on Monday for previously scheduled strategic talks and a Japanese group will arrive for consultations here later in the week.

McClellan noted that North Korea violated the 1994 Agreed Framework, a bilateral pact negotiated with the United States that froze Pyongyang's nuclear facilities in return for energy aid. That deal collapsed in late 2002 when U.S. officials accused the North of violating the accord by pursuing a secret nuclear program. The North denied the charge, withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and restarted its frozen nuclear facilities.

"North Korea violated that Agreed Framework and continued to pursue nuclear weapons," McClellan said. "We believe the six-party talks are the way to resolve this in a peaceful and diplomatic way."

"I think all countries in the region are saying to North Korea, that they need to come back to the talks so that we can talk about the proposal that we put on the table at the last round of talks," the spokesman said. "That proposal addresses the concerns of all parties and it provides the way forward for resolving this matter."

Consultations are already under way with China, a senior U.S. official said.

The United States will keep pushing for six-party talks and is urging its negotiating partners not to get rattled, said this official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

[Hankaveli]

Even if they are not sincere at least they are going about the situation the right way and putting global pressure on North Korea

 

[Jokerman]

Of course they're sincere, they don't want to have to handle this maniac by themselves if they don't have to. Let China put pressure on their boy and punish them if need be. Which is the reason Korea only wants to talk to the US, cause they might not get the best deal from us otherwise.

 

[Amara]

Yeah its a regional in the sense that South Korea and Japan are now no doubt insecure in the region, so what next - more nuclear proliferation? But if indeed it was "regional" why were the US involved in the first instance ... The reason is, US policy shapes and determines NK policy. You cannot view the NK nuclear program as an isolated issue, removed from US policy. The reason the US is using such language is to avoid what they know is true, their policies of attacking these "rogues" have consequences, one of which is now coming to fruition. The talk of "peace and diplomacy" now holds little value to me, it's like putting frosting on a piece of dog shit and trying to convince someone it tastes good. I'm not fooled.

And as for the comment that NK voilated the Agreed Framework, I have read the damn agreement, and the Light Water Reactors that the US stated they would build, were not even half heartedly attempted... so the agreement was violated by the US years before the nuclear recommencement.

 

[Zero Cool]

Of course they're sincere, they don't want to have to handle this maniac by themselves if they don't have to. Let China put pressure on their boy and punish them if need be. Which is the reason Korea only wants to talk to the US, cause they might not get the best deal from us otherwise.

Indeed. Kim Jong-Il is a mentally ill schizophrenic. To launch a preventitive war against him at this point would be suicide. Whether he has nukes or not isn't the point, it's the threat of this weapons which is the problem. Combined with the rest of the international community hopefully this problem can be resolved however war should not be ruled out, maniacs tend to go against the moral rule of law.

 

[Kareem]

the u.s. isnt gonna attack North Korea unfortunately, that mans more of a threat to world peace then Saddam hussien an Osama Bin Laden combined. BUT understand North Korea's tactics they bullshit all the time to get what they want, even as crazy as Kim Il Jong or whatever his name is, is! He's not stupid enough to do anything militarily, his use of nuculear weapons would mean the end of his reign, i dont think even China would have his back, he stands to loose too much, this move by North Korea is their typical ploy to get what they want. On the other hand Bush shouldnt have ignored the situation an let it get this far, instead he was too worried about capitalizing on Iraq's oil an the gullibleness of the american people to believe he was "trying to protect us".

 

[Pacaveli-T]

yup