N. Korea Excluded From Obama’s Policy Priorities

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama didn’t include North Korea as one of his top five policy priorities.

Obama recently opened his administration’s official Web site (www.change.gov) to announce as his top five policy priorities, including economic revival, healthcare reform and the prevention of Iran’s nuclear development.

“The Obama Administration has a comprehensive and detailed agenda to carry out its policies. The principal priorities of the Obama Administration include: a plan to revive the economy, to fix our health care, education, and social security systems, to define a clear path to energy independence, to end the war in Iraq responsibly and finish our mission in Afghanistan, and to work with our allies to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, among many other domestic and foreign policy objectives,” the site said.

Barackobama.com, which he opened in his campaign, listed nine foreign policy priorities such as the Iraq war, nuclear weapons, Iran and Israel. North Korea was briefly mentioned in the nuclear weapons section, “Obama and Biden will crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so that countries like North Korea and Iran that break the rules will automatically face strong international sanctions.”

The new administration has seldom brought up North Korea in its agenda because Obama basically agrees with the six-party talks championed by the Bush administration.

In his presidential campaign and on TV discussions, Obama repeatedly emphasized his suggestion of a face-to-face dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and the Bush administration’s decision to hold six-party talks and meet directly with North Korea was proof of this.