http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200504/kt2005041517254610510.htm
`US Out of Options on NK' The United States is running out of options in the North Korean nuclear standoff as it has failed to bring real pressure on the reclusive communist nation to return to the bargaining table, according to American experts. Frustrated with Pyongyang’s continued stalling, Washington officials are hinting at taking a harder line, but given the current situation, the warnings have no bite, the North Korea watchers said. Balbina Hwang, Northeast Asia analyst at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said a lack of support from other participants in the six-party nuclear talks is undermining the U.S.’ ability to coerce the North. ``The reality is that China, Russia and South Korea are not doing enough to put tangible pressure on North Korea,’’ she said in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times. ``As long as this continues, whatever nominal pressure the U.S. can muster... is important, but not enough to substantially change North Korea’s position.’’ Washington finds itself increasingly out of step with Seoul and Beijing in its approach to bringing Pyongyang back to the nuclear negotiations. Of the nations involved in the six-way talks, only Japan has been prepared to support the U.S.’ isolating tactics, such as the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), an interdiction regime targeting North Korean vessels suspected of carrying items that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). According to an article in the New York Times last week, U.S. officials are looking at boosting military exercises with South Korea and reconnaissance missions to pressure Pyongyang, but such a proposal would almost certainly meet opposition in Seoul. Paul Chamberlin, adjunct fellow to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said even if tough measures were taken, they would not likely elicit cooperation from Pyongyang. ``Such activities seem unlikely to induce tacit surrender, which is how certain North Korean officials would likely see a return to the six-party talks under those conditions,’’ he told The Times. Chamberlin also doubted the chances of a possible visit to the North by Chinese President Hu Jintao bringing a breakthrough in the stalemate. ``Absent a credible change in U.S. policy, North Korea’s return to talks at any time is not likely to be productive,’’ he concluded. Hu had reportedly been planning to travel to Pyongyang during the first half of this year for a return summit following North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s visit to Beijing last year. The Chinese government, however, has not yet made the concrete schedule public. In a paper presented to a peace forum in Seoul on Wednesday, Peter Beck and Meredith Sumpter of the International Crisis Group argued that ``the six-party talks are much closer to collapse than breakthrough.’’ North Korea is taking advantage of differences in approach between the U.S. and other nations to find reasons to boycott the nuclear negotiations, they said. Perhaps the strongest card Washington has still to play _ short of military action _ is referring the North’s nuclear programs to the United Nations, something John Bolton, U.S. ambassador-designate to the U.N., threatened again just this week. Experts said a U.N. Security Council (UNSC) referral is inevitable if North Korea continues to reject talks, though it also may not have the desired effect. More than 30 months into the nuclear dispute, Pyongyang seems in no hurry to make a deal. As Beck and Sumpter argue, it may be the U.S. rather than North Korea that is feeling pressured and isolated as it searches for a way out. -- After all, there is but one race - humanity. -- George Moore ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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