North Korea denounces US sanctions

The US and South Korea announced military exercises 
in response to the Cheonan sinking [Reuters]

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/07/201072245318873846.html

North Korea has denounced a new set of sanctions imposed by the United States in an attempt to stem Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

Ri Tong Il, a North Korean official, said on Thursday that the sanctions, announced a day earlier by Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, represented a "clear expression of intensified hostility".

"If the US is truly interested in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, it must take the lead in creating an atmosphere [for dialogue] rather than hurting such an atmosphere by ... imposing sanctions," Ri said on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Hanoi.

Ri, a member of the North Korean delegation at the Asean forum, made the comments as Clinton arrived in the Vietnamese capital to attend the regional conference.

Clinton was expected to discuss the North Korean issue further during talks with ministers at the forum.

She was due to meet Yang Jiechi, her Chinese counterpart, on Thursday to urge Beijing to put more pressure on the North over its nuclear program.

Nuclear weapons ambitions

Clinton had announced the new measures against Pyongyang during a visit to South Korea on Wednesday.

She said the sanctions were designed to stamp out illegal money-making ventures used to fund North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The sanctions would be aimed at the sale or procurement of arms and related goods as well as the procurement of luxury items.

Clinton also used her visit to urge North Korea to accept responsibility for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which left 46 sailors dead.

The US has announced a series of joint military exercises aimed at deterring the North from any future attack.

Robert Gates, the US defense secretary, and his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-Young said the drills off the Korean peninsula's western coast were designed "to send a clear message to North Korea that its aggressive behaviour must stop".

However, Ri on Thursday criticized the planned naval drills, saying the military exercises pose a major threat to global peace.

"The decision to hold military drills is a major danger for the security of the region," he said.

"Such movements pose a great threat not only to the peace and security of the Korean peninsula but also to global peace and security."

The US has sent the 97,000-tonne aircraft carrier USS George Washington to take part in the drill set to begin on Sunday in the Sea of Japan.

The exercises will involve about 20 ships and 200 fixed-wing aircraft, according to military officials.

The drills are the first overt military response to the sinking of the Cheonan, and underscore US support for Seoul.

The North has denied it is responsible for the incident and a United Nations Security Council statement condemning the sinking did not name North Korea as the culprit, apparently after Chinese pressure.
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2010 Jul 22

US Imposes New Sanctions on North Korea



Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/07/201072182522763513.html

The United States will impose new sanctions on North Korea in a bid to stem its nuclear weapons ambitions, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said.

Clinton said the measures were designed to stamp out illegal money-making ventures used to fund the nuclear program.

"These measures are not directed at the people of North Korea, who have suffered too long due to the misguided priorities of their government,'' Clinton said after talks with defense and military officials in South Korea on Wednesday.

"They are directed at the destabilizing, illicit, and provocative policies pursued by that government,'' she said.

She said the sanctions would be aimed at the sale or procurement of arms and related goods as well as the procurement of luxury items.

The US will freeze assets as well as prevent some businesses and individuals from travelling abroad, and collaborate with banks to stop illegal financial transactions, Clinton said.

'Provocative behaviour'

Clinton arrived in Seoul, the South Korean capital, on Wednesday, with tensions between the North and South running high following the recent sinking of a South Korean warship, which left 46 sailors dead.

"From the beginning of the [Barack] Obama administration, we have made clear that
there is a path open to the DPRK to achieve the security and international respect it seeks,'' she said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"North Korea can cease its provocative behaviour, halt its threats and belligerence towards its neighbours, take irreversible steps to fulfill its de-nuclearisation commitments and comply with international law,'' Clinton said.

Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert based in Seoul, told Al Jazeera that new sanctions were unlikely to have much impact or significance in the North.

"They [the sanctions] were expected, especially when the UN Security Council chose to have a very cautious approach to North Korea and did not introduce new sanctions, it was only logical that America would do something," he said.

"They [the sanctions] don't look impressive - very few countries sell arms to North Korea and those who do are not likely to be influenced by any decision made by the US.

"The idea to freeze assets of North Korea's elite has been tried before. Their lifestyle could become difficult but I do not expect it to change their policies."

Contrasting Koreas

Earlier, during a visit to the Demilitarised Zone that divides the two Koreas, Clinton was accompanied by Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, who remarked on the contrast between the prosperous South and the impoverished, communist North.

"In the 20 years since I last climbed that observation tower and looked out across the DMZ, it's stunning how little has changed up there and yet how much South Korea continues to grow and prosper," he said.

"The North, by contrast, stagnates in isolation and deprivation."

Clinton and Gates were visiting South Korea to underscore their support for Seoul following the sinking of the Cheonan in March.

The North has denied it is responsible for the incident and a United Nations Security Council statement condemning the sinking did not name North Korea as the culprit, apparently after Chinese pressure.

US officials have suggested that the apparent torpedo attack on the Cheonan could herald further attacks on the South, but some analysts have said this is unlikely given the situation in the North.

'Severe problems'

Don Kirk, the Koreas correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor newspaper, told Al Jazeera that the claim that North Korea's behaviour may turn even more aggressive is overstated.

"I don't think North Korea is in a position to stage more attacks. The country is facing severe economic problems, and also, China is trying to hold North Korea in check," he said.

"I think that after these military exercises are held, the whole direction will be towards six-party talks on its nuclear program."

The US has sent the 97,000-tonne aircraft carrier USS George Washington to take part in drill set to begin on Sunday in the Sea of Japan.

The exercises will involve about 20 ships and 200 fixed-wing aircraft, according to military officials.

North Korea has denounced the exercises as "very dangerous sabre-rattling".