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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (1967)	3/13/2001 2:22:48 AM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

Bush sours North Korea relations By Ben Fenton in Washington From Electronic Telegraph (UK) (Mar 9, 2001) THE relationship between America and North Korea soured yesterday after President George W Bush made it clear that he was deeply suspicious of the communist North's commitment to current agreements. After talks with President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea, Mr Bush told a news conference that anyone dealing with the reclusive North, identified as a rogue state that poses a potential threat to America itself, had to be "wise and strong". His remarks were a clear break from the previous administration's support for Mr Kim's efforts to build bridges with the North, which included a visit to Pyongyang by Madeleine Albright, Bill Clinton's Secretary of State. Mr Bush's tone towards the communist regime was many degrees cooler. He said: "Part of the problem in dealing with North Korea, there's not very much transparency. When you make an agreement with a country that is secretive, how are you aware as to whether or not they are keeping the terms of the agreement?" Officials later said Mr Bush was referring in particular to a 1994 agreement by which Pyongyang agreed to stop nuclear weapons development in return for aid. Mr Bush added: "I am concerned that the North Koreans are shipping weapons of mass destruction around the world." The sceptical tone was in marked contrast to remarks by Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, giving evidence to Congress, which seemed to show a split in the administration's attitude. Mr Powell said: "We are not avoiding North Korea, quite the contrary. We do plan to engage with North Korea; to pick up where President Clinton left off." Later, he played down the idea that there was a timetable for talks and that there was any hurry for the so-called engagement to take place. His opinion was not shared by members of the delegation of Kim Dae-jung, who has indicated that the opportunity for dealing with the communist regime in Pyongyang will not last for long. Mr Kim was disappointed by his meeting with Mr Bush, the tone of which he described as "frank", a diplomatic euphemism for disagreement. With pressure at home for a breakthrough in his "sunshine" policy of talking to Kim Jong-il, the Communist leader in the North, Mr Kim was hoping for a strong show of unity from his talks with Mr Bush. Instead, he came away with powerful signs that the new administration was sceptical of the South's policy, which earned Mr Kim the Nobel Peace Prize last year. <b< The divergence between Mr Powell and Mr Bush was played down by officials, but it is not the first time in recent days that the Secretary of State, who is markedly less conservative than many members of the new cabinet, has appeared to be at odds with his White House colleagues. Questioned about Iraq, Mr Powell put the presence of inspectors to verify that Saddam Hussein was not developing nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or long-range missiles at the centre of American policy. Without them, he said, there could be no change to America's insistence on the maintenance of UN sanctions. "The inspectors have to go back in," Mr Powell told the international relations committee of the House of Representatives. But only last Monday, Vice-President Dick Cheney, who has shown himself to be at the heart of America's foreign policy, made it clear that he favoured powerful sanctions against Saddam rather than insisting on the readmission of UN weapons inspectors. Mr Cheney said: "I don't think we want to hinge our policy just to the question of whether or not the inspectors go back in there. It may not be as crucial if you've got other measures in place and you've got a [sanctions] regime that people are willing to support." In evidence to the committee, Mr Powell was cautious about another part of foreign policy favoured by conservatives in Washington - the transfer of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He said that Mr Bush was committed to the promise made in his election campaign, but added: "In the light of the very difficult situation, we'll continue to examine how that process should start." telegraph.co.uk