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| Korea |
| US ’not pressing for N Korea sanctions’ |
| 2003-02-16 |
| The lead photo for this story just had to be Photoshop'd. It shows a working tractor in North Korea! The United States has said it does not intend to press for immediate sanctions against North Korea. The crisis over the Stalinist state's nuclear programme was referred this week to the UN Security Council, which could make such a move. American envoy Richard Williamson insisted that the US - which pressed for the council's involvement - was still keen to solve the crisis diplomatically. One at a time folks, one at a time. But North Korea said his remarks were untrustworthy, and maintained that the dispute could only be resolved by direct negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang. Which, by golly, we still haven't done. North Korea has previously warned that it would regard the imposition of sanctions as a declaration of war. The relationship between North Korea and its southern neighbour has been soured by the crisis. The BBC has an outstanding command of the obvious. Talks on economic co-operation ended on Thursday without agreement, as South Korea said the nuclear impasse must be resolved first. US envoy Richard Williamson told reporters at the UN that sanctions against Pyongyang were "not an issue right now". Secretary of State Colin Powell said: "We still think there is the possibility of a diplomatic solution." "In fact, we think we can schedule talks on the matter for August, 2009." North Korea's neighbours - Japan, South Korea, China and Russia - have also urged further talks rather than possible military action. On Friday Japan sought to clarify remarks that Tokyo would launch a pre-emptive strike against Pyongyang. I'll bet they did. That had to raise hairs from Taipei to Beijing. "The situation is very tense in North Korea, but Japan is not making any special preparations in response to that," defence chief Shigeru Ishiba told reporters on Friday. But he stressed that Japan would retaliate with military force if North Korea used arms against it. That caused another sleepless night in Beijing. Around 400 prominent South Korean public Lessee, 400 times 1 million each, hmmm. The visit may pave the way for regular trips to the scenic Mount Kumgang, or Diamond Mountain. The cross-border route is one of several that are being reconnected under agreements signed at the historic inter-Korean summit three years ago. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung apologised on Friday for his involvement in a scandal surrounding payments to North Korea ahead of the summit. "$400 million and all I got was a stinkin' T-shirt from Diamond Mountain!" The border between the two Koreas is heavily fortified by both Korean and US forces, and on Friday US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld raised the possibility of moving some American troops away from the region. He said no plan had yet been finalised, but South Korea's president-elect Roh Moo-hyun has asked Washington to reassess US troops in the South. "Go away. No! Not that far away!" Mr Roh did not want a complete withdrawal of American forces, but sought to "rebalance" the US-Korean military alliance, a US official told Reuters news agency Anytime they want to shoulder more of the burden is ok with me. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 I bet we spend a good long time discussing the shape of the table first. We did learn *something* from the Vietnamese, after all... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-02-16 21:23:14 |
| #1 Bring all of our ground forces home. We can play this one by remote control if we have to, and the South Koreans can learn our old proverb: "Be careful what you ask for..." |
| Posted by: Tom 2003-02-16 12:23:22 |