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China-Japan-Koreas | ||
State Department Says Nuclear-Free Korea Remains US Goal | ||
2009-02-18 | ||
The State Department said Tuesday the complete dismantling of North Korea's nuclear program remains the goal of the Chinese-led six-party negotiations with Pyongyang. The comment followed an assertion by a leading U.S. academic that North Korea appears determined to retain a small arsenal of nuclear weapons. The State Department says while the Obama administration is reviewing all aspects of U.S. policy toward North Korea, it has not changed the ultimate objective of achieving a nuclear free Korean Peninsula. The comments here came in response to a published assertion by U.S. Asia scholar Selig Harrison that North Korea appears adamant in holding on to the small arsenal of nuclear weapons it is understood to have produced in recent years, and is unlikely to be willing to negotiate anything other than a cap on its weapons holdings. Harrison, a former Washington Post Asia correspondent and now a scholar with the Washington-based Center for International Policy, said in a Washington Post column Tuesday that he visited North Korea last month and found a hardening of policy there - apparently related to the reported illness of the country's leader, Kim Jong Il.
The nuclear talks have been a key issue in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Japan, which ends Wednesday. She has said in Tokyo the United States expects North Korea to fulfill its obligations, and that reported plans by Pyongyang to test a long-range missile would be "very unhelpful." Asia scholar Harrison said in his commentary Tuesday that the hard-line stance he encountered in Pyongyang suggests the United States might have to accept the idea of a nuclear North Korea and formulate policy accordingly. A senior official here said while Harrison is a private citizen, North Korea has | ||
Posted by:Steve White |
#3 What will China think about S Korea having nukes? |
Posted by: bman 2009-02-18 14:35 |
#2 Ok, let's call Kimmie's bluff. He can keep his four or five semi-operational nuclear weapons. In exchange, we will give South Korea a dozen nuclear-armed Tomahawks and the related launch and ground-support equipment. That way, both sides have a semi-equal nuclear status. I'm sure that within six weeks of our making the deal, the South will have found a way to secure those missiles in blast-proof shelters, giving themselves a retaliatory capability. Kimmie, of course, will need a bath and several changes of clothes. |
Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-02-18 11:53 |
#1 And a pony. |
Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-02-18 07:08 |