Ready-to-launch missiles create unrest, halt dialog with North Korea

By Imola Unger

During her official visit to Asia Secretary of State Clinton warned Friday that continued insults against South Korea will not improve US-North Korean relations. Hillary Clinton recommended returning to nuclear talks and signaled willingness from part of the US to resume diplomatic relations with the communist country.

North Korea's recent activity on what appears to be launch-ready missiles aimed at its southern neighbor, with an assessed capacity to reach the United States, has created disquietude in the international area. Warnings have been issued from a number of countries against a test fire and intelligence forces are keeping a continuous watch on the communist state. Secretary of State Clinton reminded that any such launch would constitute a violation of a 2006 Security Council act prohibiting nuclear activity in the country.

She identified the North Korean nuclear arsenal and increased number of military troops as a high security risk for the area and said the US would be willing to supply aid to the region on the condition that North Korea stop producing and deploying missiles. Clinton found Pyongyang’s reluctance to participate in any internationally conducted investigations or even negotiations unconducive to establishing a safe relation with its neighbor and the US.

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South Korea's change in attitude favoring a more radical approach towards the North is not fostering positive changes with the Northern neighbor. Relations froze as Southern leader Lee suspended pursuing negotiations with the North and cut off aid to the country. North Korea began a threatening rhetoric toward the South and has also accused the United States of "frantically" plotting military action in the region, threatening to be ready to respond, which did not elicit a favorable reaction from America.

The Secretary of State’s remarks show little shift from the previous administration’s approach. President Bush called North Korea “an outpost of tyranny,” and Clinton’s phrasing was not dissimilar last week, threatening with no improvement on building friendlier ties with the country.

Clinton did not mention the topic of North Korea as one of the subjects discussed during her later China visit. Experts surmise the silence means not avoidance but uncertainty regarding influence on the country. Predictions as to North Korea's change in behavior are pessimistic. A change in US approach is therefore also unlikely to happen, an economic security specialist said in Seoul. Obama is likely to maintain an unyielding stance unless North Korea's denuclearization is achieved.

On Friday the Secretary of State announced the person of the new North Korea envoy, former South Korean ambassador Stephen Bosworth. Further major succession issues in the area include a potential heir to Kim Jong-il, who is said to have been in ill health as of late.