Opposition to nuke dialogue’s resumption growing in US

Opposition to nuke dialogue’s resumption growing in US. January. 06, 2011 11:53. yhchoi65@donga.com.

U.S. opposition is rising against the bid of South Korea and the U.S. to resume the six-party talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear program.

The incoming chairwoman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, urged Washington and Seoul Wednesday to beef up pressure on Pyongyang, saying, “We must not fall into North Korea’s trap.”

Ros-Lehtinen, who has denounced the North’s nuclear weapons development and poor human rights record, is likely to have a significant impact on U.S. policy toward the North.

She made her comments in a news release after talks in Washington with Rep. Nam Kyung-pil, chairman of South Korea’s parliamentary committee on trade, foreign affairs and unification, and committee member Rep. Gu Sang-chan.

“North Korea has a history of using acts of aggression and murder to win concessions such as diplomatic talks and economic assistance,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “We must not fall into such a trap in the wake of Pyongyang’s most recent grievous behavior.”

“It is important that responsible nations stand united against Pyongyang and work together to ratchet up pressure to make the regime understand that its actions will not be tolerated.”

She told Nam that she was “embarrassed” over South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s comment made last month that the North’s denuclearization should be resolved through the six-party talks, saying his comment reflected China’s official stance.

John Bolton, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the Bush administration, said in a contribution to the Wall Street Journal Tuesday that the six-party dialogue’s resumption as a means to resolve the North`s nuclear program will be a “significant mistake.”

Titled “North Korea: Not the Time for Talks,” Bolton’s piece said, “Having for two years correctly resisted resuming the six-party talks on the North`s nuclear weapons program, (U.S. President Barack Obama) is now pressuring South Korea to do just that,” adding, “Restarting the talks now will signal weakness and indecisiveness.”

In particular, he blasted the Obama administration for advocating China’s interests and following Beijing’s policy toward the Korean Peninsula. The resumption of humanitarian trade with the North for the sake of starving North Koreans is nothing less than an illusion, Bolton added, with the U.S. goal to make the North collapse by stepping up pressure against it.

He urged a stronger policy against the North, saying that since Obama’s inauguration, Pyongyang has detonated a second nuclear device, launched two unprovoked military attacks, unveiled its uranium enrichment facilities, and exported arms to Iran and Syria and helped both Middle Eastern countries to build nuclear reactors.