Seoul vows to bar U.S. strike at North - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune
Seoul vows to bar U.S. strike at North - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune: "
Seoul vows to bar U.S. strike at North
By Choe Sang-Hun International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2005
SEOUL President Roh Moo Hyun declared Thursday that under no circumstances would South Korea allow the United States to resort to a military attack against North Korea.
President George W. Bush insists that he wants to resolve the nuclear crisis through diplomacy, but he has not officially ruled out a military option, which he has called a 'last choice.'
Roh made the comment while blaming the nuclear deadlock on the uncompromising attitudes of both North Korea, which he called 'the most stubborn country in the world,' and the United States, which he described as the 'most opinionated country in the world.'
Although a reflection of South Korea's desire to avoid another devastating war on the divided Korean Peninsula, Roh's blunt comment came amid strains in the alliance between Washington and Seoul. It was seen as a warning to hard-liners in Washington who have questioned the viability of six-party talks.
Meanwhile, it was reported that North Korea has invited the governor of New Mexico and a U.S. congressman, both Democrats, to Pyongyang in a symbolic gesture of openness.
Representative Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California, will probably visit North Korea from Saturday to next Tuesday, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported from Beijing, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.
Lantos's trip could be followed by a visit by the New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson, Kyodo said.
It is a long-running North Korean policy to cultivate private and parliamentary channels in a negotiating partner even while escalating tensions on the government level. It has used such means to test initiatives, spread confusing messages or try to build understanding in Washington.
The Bush administration has distanced itself from such trips, and no official negotiations have taken place during such visits in the past.
But a White House endorsement for the trips would be taken by North Korea as an indication of U.S. willingness to engage the Communist regime.
"Governor Richardson has been invited and the trip is under consideration," Richardson's spokesman, Billy Sparks, told The Associated Press. "He intends to coordinate fully with the Bush administration should the visit take place."
Maureen Cormack, press attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, said the embassy has no information on the possible trips. The South Korean Foreign Ministry also had no information, though officials there said that Lantos and Richardson had shown interest in visiting the North.
Richardson, who earned his stripes as a diplomatic troubleshooter as a U.S. congressman and later as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, visited North Korea in 1996 and helped secure the release of an American detained on spy charges.
Two years earlier, he brought home a U.S. pilot whose helicopter was shot down in the North.
In 2003, the governor invited North Korean envoys to Santa Fe. He espouses direct talks between the United States and North Korea - something the Bush administration has shunned.
Lantos visited Pyongyang in January to discuss its nuclear program and human rights issues.
In January, North Korea told a separate group of congressmen, led by a Republican, Representative Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, that it would return to six-party talks "in a matter of weeks."
But that optimism dissipated after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called North Korea an "outpost of tyranny" in her Senate confirmation hearing.
Rice will travel to Asia staring this weekend to discuss how to bring the North back to the table, and possibly what to do if it continues to resist.
In 2003, the governor invited North Korean envoys to Santa Fe. He espouses direct talks between the United States and North Korea - something the Bush administration has shunned.
Lantos visited Pyongyang in January to discuss its nuclear program and human rights issues.
In January, North Korea told a separate group of congressmen, led by a Republican, Representative Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, that it would return to six-party talks "in a matter of weeks."
But that optimism dissipated after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called North Korea an "outpost of tyranny" in her Senate confirmation hearing.
Rice will travel to Asia staring this weekend to discuss how to bring the North back to the table, and possibly what to do if it continues to resist.
"
Seoul vows to bar U.S. strike at North
By Choe Sang-Hun International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2005
SEOUL President Roh Moo Hyun declared Thursday that under no circumstances would South Korea allow the United States to resort to a military attack against North Korea.
President George W. Bush insists that he wants to resolve the nuclear crisis through diplomacy, but he has not officially ruled out a military option, which he has called a 'last choice.'
Roh made the comment while blaming the nuclear deadlock on the uncompromising attitudes of both North Korea, which he called 'the most stubborn country in the world,' and the United States, which he described as the 'most opinionated country in the world.'
Although a reflection of South Korea's desire to avoid another devastating war on the divided Korean Peninsula, Roh's blunt comment came amid strains in the alliance between Washington and Seoul. It was seen as a warning to hard-liners in Washington who have questioned the viability of six-party talks.
Meanwhile, it was reported that North Korea has invited the governor of New Mexico and a U.S. congressman, both Democrats, to Pyongyang in a symbolic gesture of openness.
Representative Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California, will probably visit North Korea from Saturday to next Tuesday, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported from Beijing, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.
Lantos's trip could be followed by a visit by the New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson, Kyodo said.
It is a long-running North Korean policy to cultivate private and parliamentary channels in a negotiating partner even while escalating tensions on the government level. It has used such means to test initiatives, spread confusing messages or try to build understanding in Washington.
The Bush administration has distanced itself from such trips, and no official negotiations have taken place during such visits in the past.
But a White House endorsement for the trips would be taken by North Korea as an indication of U.S. willingness to engage the Communist regime.
"Governor Richardson has been invited and the trip is under consideration," Richardson's spokesman, Billy Sparks, told The Associated Press. "He intends to coordinate fully with the Bush administration should the visit take place."
Maureen Cormack, press attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, said the embassy has no information on the possible trips. The South Korean Foreign Ministry also had no information, though officials there said that Lantos and Richardson had shown interest in visiting the North.
Richardson, who earned his stripes as a diplomatic troubleshooter as a U.S. congressman and later as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, visited North Korea in 1996 and helped secure the release of an American detained on spy charges.
Two years earlier, he brought home a U.S. pilot whose helicopter was shot down in the North.
In 2003, the governor invited North Korean envoys to Santa Fe. He espouses direct talks between the United States and North Korea - something the Bush administration has shunned.
Lantos visited Pyongyang in January to discuss its nuclear program and human rights issues.
In January, North Korea told a separate group of congressmen, led by a Republican, Representative Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, that it would return to six-party talks "in a matter of weeks."
But that optimism dissipated after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called North Korea an "outpost of tyranny" in her Senate confirmation hearing.
Rice will travel to Asia staring this weekend to discuss how to bring the North back to the table, and possibly what to do if it continues to resist.
In 2003, the governor invited North Korean envoys to Santa Fe. He espouses direct talks between the United States and North Korea - something the Bush administration has shunned.
Lantos visited Pyongyang in January to discuss its nuclear program and human rights issues.
In January, North Korea told a separate group of congressmen, led by a Republican, Representative Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, that it would return to six-party talks "in a matter of weeks."
But that optimism dissipated after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called North Korea an "outpost of tyranny" in her Senate confirmation hearing.
Rice will travel to Asia staring this weekend to discuss how to bring the North back to the table, and possibly what to do if it continues to resist.
"
posted by Greta Jane at Saturday, July 09, 2005
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