Senior U.S. Diplomat Threatens ‘Further Measures’ Against North Korea
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Christopher Hill, in a hearing for his confirmation to the post of Assistant Secretary of State for Asian and Pacific Affairs, has given the most explicit signal yet that the Bush Administration will not tolerate the continued lack of progress in the six-party talks. Reuters reports:
“[W]e need to see some progress here. If we don’t, we need to look at other ways to deal with this,” said Christopher Hill, U.S. ambassador to South Korea.
Hill did not suggest that the United States intended to use force, hinting instead at a policy of economic isolation of the regime. Hill also stressed the Administration’s preference for a diplomatic solution. He went on to suggest that “any country doing any business” with North Korea should consider whether its activities encourage North Korea’s “bad behavior.” Hill singled out Russia by name, but his comments also appeared to have been aimed at China and South Korea, which is developing a massive low-wage industrial park in North Korea:
“I would like to look very carefully to see what more Russia could do . . . I think with respect to Russia, with respect to any country doing any business with North Korea, . . . we need to look very carefully at what they are doing . . . with a view to determining, are they somehow encouraging bad behavior from the North Koreans or are they encouraging North Korea to come back to the table.”
Hill criticized China for failing to exert sufficient pressure on North Korea to force it to return to the talks, saying, “It’s our view that China as the host of this process should make sure they get everybody to the table.” Ambassador-designate to South Korea Joseph DeTrani, currently the U.S. special envoy to the six-country talks, pointedly mentioned that China supplies 60 percent of North Korea’s energy and 60 percent of its food.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to recommend that the full Senate confirm both Hill and De Trani.
Japan, formerly a major trading partner of North Korea, imposed new shipping insurance requirements on March 1st. The new regulations, not formally styled as sanctions, have effectively blocked most trade with North Korea by imposing a financial requirement that few North Korean ships can afford.