U.S. Sends Conflicting Signals on North Korea
Secretary of State Colin Powell briefly met with his North Korean
counterpart July 31 in the highest-level exchange between the two
countries since the Bush administration took office, but the United
States continued to call the North Korean regime “evil”
and has not yet decided whether to send an envoy to Pyongyang as
had been discussed.
Powell met briefly with Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun during the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum meeting in
Brunei. The meeting followed a U.S. decision July 2 to cancel a
planned delegation to North Korea. State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher cited Pyongyang’s failure to respond to a proposed
July 10 meeting date, as well as a June 29 naval skirmish between
North and South Korea, for canceling the visit.
U.S.-North Korea talks that began during the Clinton administration
had focused on implementing the 1994 Agreed Framework and negotiating
a new agreement to end North Korea’s missile program and exports.
The Bush administration stated in June 2001 that it was willing
to meet with Pyongyang but linked progress on nuclear weapons and
missiles to a broader agenda, including conventional forces on the
Korean Peninsula and Pyongyang’s human rights record.
The administration is now considering whether to send Assistant
Secretary of State James Kelly to Pyongyang in the near future.
“Our view now is that at an appropriate time a trip by Mr.
Kelly is probably warranted,” Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage said August 28.
Despite these signs that the Bush administration is interested
in dialogue with North Korea, John Bolton, undersecretary of state
for arms control and international security, gave a strongly worded
speech in Seoul August 29 criticizing its government. North Korea
is “an evil regime that is armed to the teeth, including with
weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles,” Bolton
said, adding that the country “has one of the most robust offensive
bioweapons programs on Earth.”
In addition, the State Department announced August 23 that it had
imposed sanctions the previous week on Changgwang Sinyong Corporation
of North Korea and on the North Korean government itself for proliferating
missile technology to Yemen. The sanctions prohibit the U.S. government
and businesses from participating in North Korean government activities
related to the development or production of missile equipment or
technology, electronics, space systems, or military aircraft. However,
because of existing legal restrictions on U.S. interaction with
North Korea, the new sanctions are largely symbolic.
Apparently to indicate that the sanctions were not intended as
a diplomatic signal, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said
August 23 that the sanctions were a “pro forma requirement
under the law for the State Department” and that Washington
is willing to “talk with North Korea any time, any place.”
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