If the North Koreans pull out of the negotiations the press will crucify them although their reason is quite legitimate.
This policy was epitomized in Victor Cha, who Harrison described as “kind of the ideologue of the Bush Administration” on the subject of Korean affairs—and this even before his appointment to the NSC. Cha’s book on North Korea, Harrison said, “lays it all out: the purpose of negotiating with North Korea is not to settle anything,” because in Cha’s eyes it presents a threat to South Korean and American interests. “You have these multilateral negotiations in Beijing simply to show to the other parties in the region—China, South Korea, Russia and Japan—that it is not possible to make any deals with North Korea. He says the purpose of the negotiations is to mobilize a ‘coalition for punishment’.” The goal of talks, therefore, is not conflict resolution but to build a multinational coalition backing sanctions or military action. Cha has argued that “engagement is the best practical way to build a coalition for punishment tomorrow. A necessary precondition for the U.S. coercing North Korea is the formation of a regional consensus that efforts to resolve the problem in a non-confrontational manner have been exhausted. Without this consensus, implementing any form of coercion that actually puts pressure on the regime is unworkable.” The policy Cha terms “hawk engagement,” is only a means to an end. For Cha, “engagement does not operate without an exit strategy, engagement is the exit strategy.” #msg-4676696
-Am
North Korea Weighs Nuclear Talks Pullout
Updated 9:49 AM ET December 13, 2004
TOKYO (AP) - North Korea is re-examining its participation in six-nation talks over its nuclear programs because of what it alleged were U.S. efforts to bring down the regime in Pyongyang, North Korea's official news agency said Monday.
Three rounds of six-nation talks aimed at persuading North Koreans to halt weapons development have taken place since last year but without a breakthrough. North Korea boycotted a fourth round that was scheduled for September and analysts say Pyongyang was probably holding out, betting on a change in the White House.
According to the state-run news agency, KCNA, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman denounced Washington for its "smear campaign" and accused the Bush administration of trying to topple the North's reclusive regime run by leader Kim Jong Il.
"The U.S. frantic smear campaign against the DPRK reminds us of an eve of its aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq. This heightens our vigilance," the official said, referring to the country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"Under this situation the DPRK is compelled to seriously reconsider its participation in the talks with the U.S., a party extremely disgusting and hateful," the ministry spokesman said.
North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003 after Washington accused it of running a clandestine nuclear program and cut off free oil shipments promised under a 1994 deal in exchange for a freeze of the North's nuclear activities.
The two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the United States have since tried to resolve the crisis with talks in Beijing _ to no avail.
U.S officials recently met with North Korean officials in New York to convey Washington's readiness to resume the negotiations and its commitment to resolve the issue diplomatically. KCNA said the talks were held on Nov. 30 and Dec. 3.
Monday's KCNA report appeared to indicate Pyongyang's reluctance to continue with talks _ reiterating a decision announced earlier this month to hold off on nuclear negotiations until the United States changed its "hostile" policy toward the country.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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