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Lawmaker: White House Nixed N. Korea Trip
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican congressman said Sunday that opposition from the White House caused him to scrub plans to lead a group of U.S. lawmakers to the site of North Koreaâs nuclear weapons program.``At the 11th hour, the White House withdrew its support for our bipartisan visit to North Korea,ââ Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said in a statement. It said Sundayâs scheduled departure has been delayed temporarily.KCNA, North Koreaâs official news agency, reported that the congressional delegation had notified Kim Jong Ilâs government Friday that the trip was canceled ``due to the opposition of the White House.ââ A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush had good discussions on his recent trip to Asia on moving forward with multinational diplomacy to persuade the North to move forward to end its nuclear weapons program. To try to keep the focus on that process, the official said, ``we believe that a congressional delegation visit to North Korea at this time would not be appropriate.ââ More engaged apathy, as Steven Den Beste would call it. Let the NKors hang. Weldon is considered an expert on foreign policy matters, especially involving Russia, China and other former Cold War rivals such as North Korea. He had planned to visit the communist-led North from Tuesday through Friday. He led a delegation there in late May and said on his return that North Koreaâs government was ready to bargain about its weapons development program and nuclear stockpiles. See how well that turned out? KCNA said North Korea had planned to invite Weldonâs delegation to visit Yongbyon, North Koreaâs main nuclear complex. Weldon and his congressional colleagues would have been the first outsiders at the plant since North Korea threw out U.N. nuclear inspectors late last year. The Congresscritters, unschooled in basic nuclear inspection, would have issued some statement how things looked âokâ, thus complicating our diplomacy. Hence the delay. ``Discussions continue between our delegation and North Korean officials,ââ Weldon said in his statement. ``The members of the delegation still believe that a congressional visit will positively impact relations between our two nations. ``In that regard, the North Koreans continue to make overtures that our delegation will have access to the Yongbyon nuclear facility.ââ Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday any reciprocal agreement leading to written assurances against an attack on North Korea would have to be verifiable.``The president has made it clear since the beginning of this situation last year that he had no intention of invading North Korea,ââ Powell said on NBCâs ``Meet the Press.ââ ``North Korea listened to these assurances, and weâve been doing diplomatic dances for the last year. ``And in the last several days, after the president, once again, reaffirmed his position with President Hu Jintao of China and other leaders in Thailand last week, the North Koreans have responded ... to suggest they wish to pursue the ideas that the president has put on the table.ââ "Marvin! Whatâs the situation with North Korea?" "Well Mr. Secretary, the North Koreans say they want to pursue what the President offered to them." "Figures. Allright, what does the calendar look like?" "Well Mr. Secretary, April, 2004 is open." "Nope, nope, have to see the dentist then." "July is promising." "Canât, thatâs the summer vacation with the wife and kids." "February, 2005 is open for now." "Book it. Now then, how soon can the Chinese turn off the oil?" "Before then." "Excellent, Marvin, excellent." Posted by: Steve White 2003-10-27 |
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