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Has the Sunshine Policy failed?
North Korea pours cold water on U.S. offer
Wednesday, January 15, 2003 Posted: 10:48 PM EST (0348 GMT)
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has described a U.S. offer to revive aid as a "deceptive drama" even as its Asian neighbors are abuzz with diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff.
While the deadlock received a boost of hope Wednesday when the two Koreas agreed to talk next week, a war of words continues to simmer between Pyongyang and Washington over the North's nuclear ambitions.
In the latest diplomatic ***-for-tat over Pyongyang's alleged nuclear program, North Korea's foreign ministry released a statement pouring cold water on U.S. offers of aid in exchange for dismantling its nuclear hopes.
"It is clear that the U.S. talk about dialogue is nothing but a deceptive drama to mislead the world public opinion," said the statement, issued late at night by the official Korean Central News Agency.
"The U.S. loudmouthed supply of energy and food aid are like a pie in the painted cake sky as they are possible only after the DPRK (North Korea) is totally disarmed."
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer dismissed the statement as unhelpful bluster.
In the last few months, North Korea has embarked on a series of steps that have fueled concern over its nuclear ambitions, including reactivating facilities frozen under a 1994 pact with Washington.
Last week, Pyongyang threatened to resume missile tests and vowed to destroy the United States in "a sea of fire."
The crisis worsened on Sunday when North Korea -- labelled by the United States as part of an "axis of evil" along with Iran and Iraq -- withdrew from a global nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Washington accuses Pyongyang of covertly developing nuclear weapons, a charge the Foreign Ministry repeatedly denies.
The United States insists North Korea abandon its nuclear program as a condition for further talks, and says it is waiting for Pyongyang to make an official response to its offers.
But amid a barrage of anti-American rhetoric, Pyongyang has accused Washington of bad faith and insisted a non-aggression pact is the only way to defuse the nuclear crisis.
Korean bid
Meanwhile, North Korean officials are set to meet with their South Korean counterparts for four days of ministerial talks next week in the capital Seoul.
While nuclear development will take center stage, reconciliation proposals for the two Koreas will also be discussed in the ninth round of such meetings.
On Wednesday, China and the United States held talks in Beijing, and Japan and South Korea met in Seoul, working to build on Washington's offer to revive a program to give Pyongyang food and energy if it dropped its nuclear ambitions.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly met with China's vice foreign minister in Beijing, where Chinese officials hope to open a dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.
China, a longtime ally of Pyongyang, is urging the United States to hold direct talks with North Korea, and is offering to host those negotiations.
Washington is also offering support for diplomatic efforts by other nations to resolve the dispute.
An Australian delegation is now in North Korea and Russia has said it plans to send a special envoy to Pyongyang, Beijing and Washington to help find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The head of the international atomic agency, Mohamed Elbaradei, is praising the Russian initiative, saying it could play a crucial role.
In the strongest sign the White House had dropped a ban on incentives to resolve the issue, President George W. Bush said Tuesday he might revive his administration's one-time effort to aid North Korea if it abandoned its nuclear program.
Wednesday, January 15, 2003 Posted: 10:48 PM EST (0348 GMT)
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has described a U.S. offer to revive aid as a "deceptive drama" even as its Asian neighbors are abuzz with diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff.
While the deadlock received a boost of hope Wednesday when the two Koreas agreed to talk next week, a war of words continues to simmer between Pyongyang and Washington over the North's nuclear ambitions.
In the latest diplomatic ***-for-tat over Pyongyang's alleged nuclear program, North Korea's foreign ministry released a statement pouring cold water on U.S. offers of aid in exchange for dismantling its nuclear hopes.
"It is clear that the U.S. talk about dialogue is nothing but a deceptive drama to mislead the world public opinion," said the statement, issued late at night by the official Korean Central News Agency.
"The U.S. loudmouthed supply of energy and food aid are like a pie in the painted cake sky as they are possible only after the DPRK (North Korea) is totally disarmed."
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer dismissed the statement as unhelpful bluster.
In the last few months, North Korea has embarked on a series of steps that have fueled concern over its nuclear ambitions, including reactivating facilities frozen under a 1994 pact with Washington.
Last week, Pyongyang threatened to resume missile tests and vowed to destroy the United States in "a sea of fire."
The crisis worsened on Sunday when North Korea -- labelled by the United States as part of an "axis of evil" along with Iran and Iraq -- withdrew from a global nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Washington accuses Pyongyang of covertly developing nuclear weapons, a charge the Foreign Ministry repeatedly denies.
The United States insists North Korea abandon its nuclear program as a condition for further talks, and says it is waiting for Pyongyang to make an official response to its offers.
But amid a barrage of anti-American rhetoric, Pyongyang has accused Washington of bad faith and insisted a non-aggression pact is the only way to defuse the nuclear crisis.
Korean bid
Meanwhile, North Korean officials are set to meet with their South Korean counterparts for four days of ministerial talks next week in the capital Seoul.
While nuclear development will take center stage, reconciliation proposals for the two Koreas will also be discussed in the ninth round of such meetings.
On Wednesday, China and the United States held talks in Beijing, and Japan and South Korea met in Seoul, working to build on Washington's offer to revive a program to give Pyongyang food and energy if it dropped its nuclear ambitions.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly met with China's vice foreign minister in Beijing, where Chinese officials hope to open a dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.
China, a longtime ally of Pyongyang, is urging the United States to hold direct talks with North Korea, and is offering to host those negotiations.
Washington is also offering support for diplomatic efforts by other nations to resolve the dispute.
An Australian delegation is now in North Korea and Russia has said it plans to send a special envoy to Pyongyang, Beijing and Washington to help find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The head of the international atomic agency, Mohamed Elbaradei, is praising the Russian initiative, saying it could play a crucial role.
In the strongest sign the White House had dropped a ban on incentives to resolve the issue, President George W. Bush said Tuesday he might revive his administration's one-time effort to aid North Korea if it abandoned its nuclear program.
Given the results the policy has given both Korean Peninsula and the world, is it time for the South to reasses its utility?
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