Spring Break
US, North Korea trade barbs as Clinton visits Asia
Associated Press
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: News
|
As she wound down a long day of official events in Tokyo before preparing for the next leg of her Asia tour in Indonesia, Clinton said North Korea's threatened missile test would harm its prospects for improved relations with the United States and other neighbors.
"The possible missile launch that North Korea is talking about would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward," she said, adding that if Pyongyang wants to end its isolation, it would have to act on pledges made to previous Bush administration negotiators to scale back its nuclear weapons efforts.
"The decision as to whether North Korea will cooperate in the six-party talks, end provocative language and actions is up to them and we are watching very closely," Clinton said, referring to North Korea's continuing talks with the U.S. and four other major nations over efforts to nudge the North to abandon nuclear weapons.
Clinton's first day of talks with Japanese officials to reaffirm the U.S.-Japan alliance was overshadowed by North Korea's rhetoric. Japan, too, is concerned about North Korean intentions, and its diplomats, along with envoys from the U.S., China, Russia and South Korea, have been involved in the six-nation talks that were to resume later this week in Moscow.
"If North Korea abides by the obligations it has already entered into and verifiably and completely eliminates its nuclear program, then there will be a reciprocal response certainly from the United States," Clinton said in Tokyo. "It is truly up to the North Koreans."
The U.S. response would include a chance to normalize relations with the United States, formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War with a peace treaty to replace the current armistice, as well as energy, financial and humanitarian assistance, she said.
Be the first to comment on this story