WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday called on North Korea to return to the six-party talks on ending its nuclear ambitions, repeating that bilateral negotiations are possible only through the six-party format. "We are perfectly willing to have bilateral talks, you know, with North Korea, as we've said many times, within the larger framework of the six-party process," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. "We believe that the six-party process remains the best mechanism to resolve the questions that we have, the tensions that we have, the issues that we have with North Korea."
| You can tell that Mr. Crowley is a professional; his lips remain attached no matter what he says ... |
| Surgical superglue, no doubt. |
Crowley said that the U.S. will continue imposing sanctions on North Korea under U.S. resolutions adopted after North Korea's nuclear and missile tests in recent years until Pyongyang returns to the six-party talks and take denuclearization steps.
"We will continue to vigorously enforce sanctions to convince them that the path that we have outlined is preferable to the path that they desire," Crowley said. "If North Korea comes back to the six-party process, demonstrates that they are willing to take the kinds of affirmative steps the international community has laid out, then in fact they can have a number of bilateral discussions and address the concerns that they have, the concerns that we have."
The spokesman's remarks came as North Korean diplomats called on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson Wednesday to convey the message that the Obama administration should begin a two-way dialogue for the North's denuclearization.
| I was waiting for Bill to stick his nose into Korean affairs again. Guess the political scandals at home in New Mexico make a Korean trip more palatable ... |
Richardson, once nominated by Obama as commerce secretary, ...
| ... say, whatever did happen to that, Bill ... |
... met with Kim Myong-gil, deputy chief of the North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York, in Santa Fe Wednesday. After the meeting, he said the North Koreans wanted to "resume a dialogue" and that he would convey that to the Obama administration.
Richardson, former U.N. ambassador, urged Washington to talk to Pyongyang. "My point here is this is the time to negotiate with them, in a tough way, possibly bilaterally, face-to-face, but within the six-party talks, which is consistent with our policy," Richardson told Fox News. "I think they were just sending a signal. And the signal is the atmosphere for talks is a lot better. They felt the Clinton visit, to get the two Americans out, went well."
| Because they got exposure and a promise of something in return. Of course they thought it went well, you idiot ... |
"They've been recently sending signals, the North Koreans, like allowing a delegation of North Koreans to pay their respects to the South Korean president who just passed away," he said. "They released a South Korean detainee from North Korea. You know, there's just a lot of positive steps that are taking place."
| Because releasing hostages is always a positive step when dealing with a genocidal, crazed, dying thug ... |
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