Clinton pledges to move quickly to address N. Korean nuke proliferation

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton
said Tuesday she will act quickly to stem nuclear proliferation in North Korea
and Iran using tough and smart diplomacy.

"We will continue to work to prevent proliferation in North Korea and Iran; to
secure loose nuclear weapons and materials and to shut down the market for
selling them," Clinton said at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee.
Clinton endorsed the stance of President-elect Barack Obama that the United
States will talk not only to friendly states but also to adversaries to resolve
security issues.
That dispelled concerns of a possible divide between the former rivals: Clinton
once dubbed as "irresponsible and frankly naive" Obama's plans to meet with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il or leaders of any other rogue states without
preconditions.
"Smart power requires reaching out to both friends and adversaries, to bolster
old alliances and to forge new ones," she said.
Clinton also emphasized the need to pursue tough and smart diplomacy, noting that
the lack of such diplomacy resulted in policy failures in North Korea, Iran, the
Middle East and the Balkan states.
She described the smart power as "using all the elements of our powers --
diplomacy, development and defense."
"We will lead with diplomacy, because that's the smart approach," she said. "But
we also know that military force will sometimes be necessary and we will rely on
it to protect our people and our interest when and where needed as a last
resort."
Obama's pick for top U.S diplomat said she will help buttress the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty and seek ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty as the basis for seeking denuclearization in North Korea and Iran.
She echoed one of Obama's major foreign policy goals, to actively pursue the NPT
with a drastic curtailment of the U.S. nuclear arsenal to persuade non-nuclear
states to refrain from developing their own.
North Korea, India, Pakistan and Israel are not members of the NPT, although they
are assumed to possess nuclear weapons, posing a serious chasm in the
international nuclear nonproliferation regime.
"We will work with this committee and the Senate for ratification of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and we will dedicate efforts to revive negotiations
on a verifiable, fissile material cutoff treaty," Clinton said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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