ID :
39361
Wed, 01/07/2009 - 18:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/39361
The shortlink copeid
Scholars urge Obama to set deadline for 6-way talks to avoid foot-dragging By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -- U.S. experts on Korea recommended Tuesday the incoming Barack Obama administration establish deadlines in multilateral talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions so that the North cannot drag negotiations out until it is accepted as a nuclear state.
"Establish deadlines with consequences for failure to meet them," said Bruce
Klingner and Walter Lohman of the Heritage Foundation in a co-authored policy
paper titled "Securing U.S. Objectives in North Korea: A Memo to President-elect
Obama."
"North Korea must not be allowed to drag out the Six-Party Talks indefinitely in
order to achieve de facto international acceptance as a nuclear weapons state,"
they said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said North Korea has built several
nuclear bombs, and U.S. intelligence and defense reports described the North as a
nuclear weapons state, although Washington says its official position is not to
acknowledge the North as a nuclear state.
Some critics say that more than a decade of fruitless international efforts
towards the isolated communist state's nuclear disarmament have taught Washington
to learn how to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Others say the U.S. government's primary goal should now be halting North Korea's
alleged nuclear nonproliferation amid rising concerns over terrorists obtaining
radioactive "dirty bombs."
North Korea has denied both the existence of the uranium program and the
proliferation of its nuclear technology to Syria, one of the major sticking
points in the six-party denuclearization talks which dates back to 2003.
North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006.
Obama has said that the North has eight nuclear weapons, but did not elaborate.
The U.S. president-elect has said he will support the six-party nuclear talks
while seeking more direct bilateral engagement.
Klingner and Lohman accused the Bush administration for abandoning "its stated
resolve to impose costs on North Korea for proliferating nuclear technology to
Syria," saying it "undermined U.S. credibility and sent a dangerous signal to
other potential proliferators."
"Define red lines and their consequences," they said. "Repeatedly deferring
difficult issues in response to Pyongyang's intransigence is not an effective way
to achieve U.S. strategic objectives."
They also advised the incoming president, who takes office on Jan. 20, to extend
the current relationship between South Korea and the U.S. "from a primarily
military one to one that includes bilateral economic ties" so the U.S. could
"retain its influence in the region and ensure that U.S. security interests are
safeguarded."
"Government and independent studies overwhelmingly conclude that the Korea-U.S.
free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) will provide clear economic benefits to the
United States, but it will also strengthen ties on the Korean peninsula and
ensure that the U.S. maintains a strategic ally in dealing with North Korea,"
they said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
"Establish deadlines with consequences for failure to meet them," said Bruce
Klingner and Walter Lohman of the Heritage Foundation in a co-authored policy
paper titled "Securing U.S. Objectives in North Korea: A Memo to President-elect
Obama."
"North Korea must not be allowed to drag out the Six-Party Talks indefinitely in
order to achieve de facto international acceptance as a nuclear weapons state,"
they said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said North Korea has built several
nuclear bombs, and U.S. intelligence and defense reports described the North as a
nuclear weapons state, although Washington says its official position is not to
acknowledge the North as a nuclear state.
Some critics say that more than a decade of fruitless international efforts
towards the isolated communist state's nuclear disarmament have taught Washington
to learn how to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Others say the U.S. government's primary goal should now be halting North Korea's
alleged nuclear nonproliferation amid rising concerns over terrorists obtaining
radioactive "dirty bombs."
North Korea has denied both the existence of the uranium program and the
proliferation of its nuclear technology to Syria, one of the major sticking
points in the six-party denuclearization talks which dates back to 2003.
North Korea detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006.
Obama has said that the North has eight nuclear weapons, but did not elaborate.
The U.S. president-elect has said he will support the six-party nuclear talks
while seeking more direct bilateral engagement.
Klingner and Lohman accused the Bush administration for abandoning "its stated
resolve to impose costs on North Korea for proliferating nuclear technology to
Syria," saying it "undermined U.S. credibility and sent a dangerous signal to
other potential proliferators."
"Define red lines and their consequences," they said. "Repeatedly deferring
difficult issues in response to Pyongyang's intransigence is not an effective way
to achieve U.S. strategic objectives."
They also advised the incoming president, who takes office on Jan. 20, to extend
the current relationship between South Korea and the U.S. "from a primarily
military one to one that includes bilateral economic ties" so the U.S. could
"retain its influence in the region and ensure that U.S. security interests are
safeguarded."
"Government and independent studies overwhelmingly conclude that the Korea-U.S.
free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) will provide clear economic benefits to the
United States, but it will also strengthen ties on the Korean peninsula and
ensure that the U.S. maintains a strategic ally in dealing with North Korea,"
they said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
