AI
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 3:56:39 AM
Edit: U.S. Pledges to Stand With Seoul ‘Always’
By MARK LANDLER
May 26, 2010
SEOUL— With political and military tensions increasing daily on the Korean peninsula, Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with the South Korean president on Wednesday and pledged
that the United States “will stand with you in this difficult hour, and stand with you always.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea in Seoul on Wednesday.
Mrs. Clinton, speaking Wednesday afternoon in Seoul after conferring with President Lee Myung-bak, said the South’s conclusion that one of its warships had been sunk by a North Korean torpedo was “inescapable,” and she endorsed Mr. Lee’s moves to cut trade ties and redesignate the North its “archenemy.”
North Korea, which responded by severing almost all of its remaining ties with
Seoul, has denied any role in the sinking of the ship and the loss of 46 South Korean sailors.
China and the United States on Tuesday had wrapped up three days of high-level meetings in Beijing with a handful of trade and energy agreements but with little progress on the most pressing American priority: winning China’s backing for new measures against North Korea.
In Beijing, Mrs. Clinton said China would take “a period of careful consideration in order to determine the best way forward in dealing with North Korea as a result of this incident,” suggesting that there was little expectation for joint action to condemn the attack.
China has been reluctant to hold North Korea responsible for the sinking of the South Korean ship last March. As a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, China’s support, or at least its acquiescence, would be needed to pass any resolution against North Korea.
The United States has thrown its full weight behind South Korea’s effort to take the incident to the United Nations. Mrs. Clinton spent much of her time this week huddled with Chinese officials, arguing the case that North Korea was responsible for the attack and that its aggression demanded a response.
On Tuesday, she tried to put the best face on China’s position, saying that President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao had conveyed their “deep regret” at the loss of the crew. Mr. Wen will fly to Seoul on Friday to meet with President Lee, which she said might move things forward.
“We expect to be working together with China in responding to North Korea’s provocative action,” Mrs. Clinton said at a news conference in Beijing after the meetings ended. “I think it is absolutely clear that China not only values but is very committed to regional stability.”
But Chinese leaders did not publicly mention North Korea by name during the meeting, and China’s state councilor who oversees foreign affairs, Dai Bingguo, called on the United States and others to “calmly and appropriately handle the issue, and avoid escalation of the situation.”
On the economic side of the ledger, the Americans claimed some modest progress.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner took note of President Hu’s reference to a coming reform of China’s currency policy, saying, “We welcome the fact that China’s leaders have recognized that the reform of the exchange rate is an important part of their broader reform agenda.”
But he added, “This is, of course, China’s choice,” reflecting the fact that China has made clear it will not loosen the dollar peg on its currency in response to prodding by the United States.
Mr. Geithner also credited China for starting to shift its economic growth from exports to domestic consumption — praise that some economists say is premature, given China’s continuing reliance on exports.
The sovereign debt crisis in Greece cast a smaller shadow on the meeting, with Chinese officials worried about how it would affect exports to Europe, their largest market. Mr. Geithner played down those jitters, saying, “Europe has the capacity to manage these challenges.”
The United States pointed to progress on two issues of importance to American investors: a change in Chinese rules on innovation that hurt foreign companies, and its pledge to submit a revised offer to join the World Trade Organization’s agreement on government procurement by July 2010. There were also agreements on issues like clean energy and shale gas exploration.
With few concrete policy agreements, the United States and China played up the personal side of the relationship.
Mrs. Clinton took part in a ceremony to promote student exchanges. The Chinese government agreed to help pay for 10,000 students to study for doctorate degrees in the United States, while President Obama has a goal of sending 100,000 Americans to China over the next four years.
The tone was even lighter in the encounters Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Geithner had with the Chinese news media. In a joint interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, they were quizzed about child-rearing and movie-going habits. (She puts up with former President Bill Clinton’s taste for action films.)
On the CCTV talk show “Dialogue,” Mrs. Clinton was asked about the plans for the wedding of her
daughter, Chelsea. She confessed that it was the most important thing in her life right now.
Nobody asked Mrs. Clinton about human rights, and she barely mentioned it this week.
Michael Wines contributed reporting from Beijing, and Mark McDonald from Hong Kong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/world/asia/27diplo.html
See also .. China suspends military exchanges with US .. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46155264&txt2find=North|korea
By MARK LANDLER
May 26, 2010
SEOUL— With political and military tensions increasing daily on the Korean peninsula, Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with the South Korean president on Wednesday and pledged
that the United States “will stand with you in this difficult hour, and stand with you always.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea in Seoul on Wednesday.
Mrs. Clinton, speaking Wednesday afternoon in Seoul after conferring with President Lee Myung-bak, said the South’s conclusion that one of its warships had been sunk by a North Korean torpedo was “inescapable,” and she endorsed Mr. Lee’s moves to cut trade ties and redesignate the North its “archenemy.”
North Korea, which responded by severing almost all of its remaining ties with
Seoul, has denied any role in the sinking of the ship and the loss of 46 South Korean sailors.
China and the United States on Tuesday had wrapped up three days of high-level meetings in Beijing with a handful of trade and energy agreements but with little progress on the most pressing American priority: winning China’s backing for new measures against North Korea.
In Beijing, Mrs. Clinton said China would take “a period of careful consideration in order to determine the best way forward in dealing with North Korea as a result of this incident,” suggesting that there was little expectation for joint action to condemn the attack.
China has been reluctant to hold North Korea responsible for the sinking of the South Korean ship last March. As a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, China’s support, or at least its acquiescence, would be needed to pass any resolution against North Korea.
The United States has thrown its full weight behind South Korea’s effort to take the incident to the United Nations. Mrs. Clinton spent much of her time this week huddled with Chinese officials, arguing the case that North Korea was responsible for the attack and that its aggression demanded a response.
On Tuesday, she tried to put the best face on China’s position, saying that President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao had conveyed their “deep regret” at the loss of the crew. Mr. Wen will fly to Seoul on Friday to meet with President Lee, which she said might move things forward.
“We expect to be working together with China in responding to North Korea’s provocative action,” Mrs. Clinton said at a news conference in Beijing after the meetings ended. “I think it is absolutely clear that China not only values but is very committed to regional stability.”
But Chinese leaders did not publicly mention North Korea by name during the meeting, and China’s state councilor who oversees foreign affairs, Dai Bingguo, called on the United States and others to “calmly and appropriately handle the issue, and avoid escalation of the situation.”
On the economic side of the ledger, the Americans claimed some modest progress.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner took note of President Hu’s reference to a coming reform of China’s currency policy, saying, “We welcome the fact that China’s leaders have recognized that the reform of the exchange rate is an important part of their broader reform agenda.”
But he added, “This is, of course, China’s choice,” reflecting the fact that China has made clear it will not loosen the dollar peg on its currency in response to prodding by the United States.
Mr. Geithner also credited China for starting to shift its economic growth from exports to domestic consumption — praise that some economists say is premature, given China’s continuing reliance on exports.
The sovereign debt crisis in Greece cast a smaller shadow on the meeting, with Chinese officials worried about how it would affect exports to Europe, their largest market. Mr. Geithner played down those jitters, saying, “Europe has the capacity to manage these challenges.”
The United States pointed to progress on two issues of importance to American investors: a change in Chinese rules on innovation that hurt foreign companies, and its pledge to submit a revised offer to join the World Trade Organization’s agreement on government procurement by July 2010. There were also agreements on issues like clean energy and shale gas exploration.
With few concrete policy agreements, the United States and China played up the personal side of the relationship.
Mrs. Clinton took part in a ceremony to promote student exchanges. The Chinese government agreed to help pay for 10,000 students to study for doctorate degrees in the United States, while President Obama has a goal of sending 100,000 Americans to China over the next four years.
The tone was even lighter in the encounters Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Geithner had with the Chinese news media. In a joint interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, they were quizzed about child-rearing and movie-going habits. (She puts up with former President Bill Clinton’s taste for action films.)
On the CCTV talk show “Dialogue,” Mrs. Clinton was asked about the plans for the wedding of her
daughter, Chelsea. She confessed that it was the most important thing in her life right now.
Nobody asked Mrs. Clinton about human rights, and she barely mentioned it this week.
Michael Wines contributed reporting from Beijing, and Mark McDonald from Hong Kong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/world/asia/27diplo.html
See also .. China suspends military exchanges with US .. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46155264&txt2find=North|korea
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