Hello Maurice, Bush appears not pleased that N.Korea UNILATERALLY abrogated the 1994 agreement on something as important as nuclear kabooms (imagine that, a shocker!), but hesitate over applying concept of preemptive action to the faster developing situation. Bush may have to restrict himself to attacking Iraq, get at the oil, so as to pay off N.Korea in order to preempt that country from having to (a) take preemptive actions of own, or (b) export their electromechanichemicatomic devices to others to do same.
So, you believe the pig tapestry is improving in (a) clarity, (b) range of possible outcomes:
quote.bloomberg.com
10/17 17:11
U.S. Seeks Peaceful Solution on N. Korea Nuclear Arms (Update7)
By Holly Rosenkrantz and Alex Canizares
Washington, Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration promised a non-military response to North Korea's breach of a 1994 nuclear disarmament treaty amid questions on whether the country's arms program may undermine the U.S. case against Iraq.
Last night's disclosure that North Korea acknowledged working for several years on nuclear weapons was met with outrage in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The White House accused North Korea of being in ``serious violation'' of the 1994 accord, in which North Korea pledged to dismantle its nuclear arms program in exchange for U.S. economic assistance.
``The president believes this is troubling, sobering news,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with President George W. Bush to a speech in Atlanta. The U.S. is ``seeking a peaceful resolution,'' consulting with allies through diplomatic channels, McClellan said.
North Korea's disclosure presents another diplomatic test for Bush as the U.S. seeks to overcome United Nations Security Council opposition to using force to compel Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to rid his country of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
``It certainly creates a very tense diplomatic situation in Northeast Asia,'' said Ted Carpenter, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute. ``I don't think the administration wants a two- front crisis at this point.''
McClellan said the U.S. is ``seeking a peaceful resolution,'' consulting with allies through diplomatic channels. Bush will discuss the issue later this month when he meets at his Texas ranch with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
Reclusive Nation
North Korea's weapons disclosure threatened years of progress by the U.S. and its allies in encouraging cooperation with one of the world's poorest and most reclusive nations.
Under the 1994 accord, the U.S., South Korea and Japan had been funding the $4.6 billion cost of building two nuclear reactors in exchange for North Korea allowing nuclear inspectors into the Stalinist country to probe its previous nuclear program. That aid-for-inspections policy now has been undercut, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
Three House lawmakers today urged Bush to halt the reactor assistance as well as all non-humanitarian aid to North Korea.
``We regard the North Korean weapons of mass destruction threat to be at least as serious as the threat posed by Iraq,'' Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Republicans Chris Cox of California and Benjamin Gilman of New York said in a letter to the president.
North Korean officials acknowledged working for several years on nuclear weapons after U.S. special envoy James Kelly confronted them earlier with evidence during a visit to North Korea earlier this month.
`Small Number' of Weapons
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he believes North Korea has ``a small number'' of nuclear weapons and ``stands in breach'' of four nonproliferation treaties.
Bush learned of North Korea's nuclear program on Oct. 5, after Kelly returned from Pyongyang, White House spokesman Sean McCormack said. Two days later, outlining his case against Hussein, Bush said Iraq ``stands alone'' and ``gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place.''
McClellan said today the threat raised by Iraq's arsenal is different from North Korea's weapons program. ``They are different regions and different circumstances,'' he said.
Speaking in Atlanta today about global threats to the U.S. homeland, Bush said the U.S. must ``deal with Iraq before we get hurt.'' He didn't mention North Korea's weapons.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the U.S. determination to compel Iraq to disarm may be reinforced.
Risk to Allies
``One of our fears in Iraq is proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,'' Armitage told reporters after speaking at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. ``Here's a case in North Korea where weapons have proliferated and put at risk our interests and the interests of two of our great allies,'' Japan and South Korea.
The U.S. has about 37,000 troops stationed in South Korea. Bush earlier this year described North Korea as part of an ``axis of evil,'' along with Iran and Iraq, for what he called a pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
North Korea's disclosure may buttress Bush's case for disarming Iraq, said Bill Taylor, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. ``We don't have to let it be a crisis,'' he said. ``It's going to strengthen his hand in the Security Council.'' ``
Two senior administration officials, including one who was part of the U.S. delegation to North Korea earlier this month, said some material for North Korea's uranium enrichment program was supplied from outside the country. When asked at a reporters' briefing whether the material may have originated in China or Russia, one of the aides replied that neither country aided North Korea's program as a matter of government policy.
Inspections Restricted
The International Atomic Energy Agency said North Korea since 1993 has restricted the activities of weapons inspectors, a complaint that's been raised about UN inspections in Iraq.
``We need to put as much pressure as possible on North Korea to comply with international law,'' said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat.
Markey was more blunt. The Bush administration ``has been in denial'' about North Korea's activities, he told reporters.
North Korea has complained that the U.S. and its allies are behind schedule in building the nuclear reactors. Pyongyang officials, after telling Kelly they had been developing nuclear weapons, ``attempted to blame the United States and said that they considered the agreed framework nullified,'' Boucher said.
Kelly and Undersecretary of State John Bolton are in Beijing today for talks through Saturday, Boucher said. Afterward, Bolton will travel to Moscow, London, Paris and Brussels to craft a response to North Korea; Kelly will head for Seoul and Tokyo for consultations.
The U.S. isn't necessarily ending all negotiations with North Korea, said a senior State Department official who declined to be identified. The U.S. has maintained contact mainly through the North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York. |
