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| China-Japan-Koreas | ||||
| Gap between allies widens over N. Korea | ||||
| 2005-12-10 | ||||
The rights conference, which Washington supports enthusiastically and Seoul has snubbed, has dramatically underscored what appears to be a worsening policy gap between the two governments, even as they proceed with six-party talks with the North. Washington dispatched its special envoy on North Korean human rights and its ambassador to Seoul to attend the three-day forum. But the South Korean foreign minister and its human rights ambassador turned down invitations, offering instead to send a mid-level official only to a conference dinner. The U.S. enthusiasm for the conference and South Korean coolness followed a sharp and direct exchange between officials of the two governments. On Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Alexander Vershbow, called North Korea a "very repressive" and "criminal regime" that trades in illicit drugs and runs "concentration camps for political prisoners." These charges have been repeatedly stressed recently among hawks in Washington who favor a tough, confrontational policy toward North Korea. In an unusually quick response, South Korea, which favors a conciliatory approach to the North, articulated what amounted to a public rebuke, apparently fearing that Vershbow's comments might derail the multinational talks on ending the North Korean nuclear weapons program. "Countries need the wisdom to control themselves when making comments on dialogue partners," Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon of South Korea said. His was one of several such comments by officials here.
The unease stems partly from what experts call a two-track U.S. policy. On one hand, Washington says it remains committed to a negotiated end to the North Korean nuclear weapons programs, while embracing the concerns of South Korea and China, which oppose provoking North Korea. On the other hand, Washington has recently begun stepping up a crackdown on illegal North Korean activities, like drug trafficking, counterfeiting U.S. dollars and proliferating technology for weapons of mass destruction. To South Korean officials and many experts, Vershbow's statement and an increasingly vocal U.S. criticism of North Korea on human rights are signs that proponents of a tough approach may be gaining an upper hand in Washington.
Lefkowitz spoke only two days after President Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea called for a "more comprehensive and bigger frame" in addressing the North Korean issue. By that, Roh probably meant that although Seoul is gravely concerned about human rights abuses in the North, antagonizing the North would only hamper negotiations on the more pressing issue of a nuclear threat, make the impoverished country crawl deeper into isolation and worsen the lives of North Koreans. "Openly demanding that North Korea improve its human rights can spawn instability on the Korean Peninsula because the North considers it an attempt to topple its government," said the South Korean vice unification minister, Rhee Bong Jo. "We cannot but give priority to peace and stability."
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Given the North Korean track record of reneging on promises, the idea that the United States and South Korea can make a nuclear deal with North Korea and then expect it to improve its human rights record is deeply flawed, forum participants said. Flawed? How about unrealistic? Mistaken? After all, they failed to abide by the previous agreement... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-12-10 00:24 |