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(6th LD) U.S. announces new sanctions against N. Korea
By Chang Jae-soon, Kim Deok-hyun and Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a set of new sanctions against North Korea on Wednesday to punish Pyongyang for the sinking of a South Korean warship and warn the communist regime against further provocations.
The announcement came after Clinton, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and their South Korean counterparts held unprecedented high-level security talks meant to underscore the firmness of their alliance in the wake of North Korea's deadly sinking of the warship Cheonan in March.
"Today, I'm announcing a series of measures to increase our ability to prevent North Korea's proliferation, to halt their illicit activities that helped fund their weapons programs and to discourage further provocative actions," Clinton told a news conference in Seoul after high-level security talks with South Korean officials.
Clinton said Washington's "new country-specific sanctions" will target the North's "sale and procurement of arms and related material and the procurement of luxury goods and other illicit activities."
"Let me stress that these measures are not directed at the people of North Korea who have suffered too long due to the misguided and malign priorities of their government," she said. "They are directed at the destabilizing illicit and provocative policies pursued by that government."
The "two-plus-two" security talks, one of the biggest shows of the nearly six-decade-old alliance between Seoul and Washington, were aimed at demonstrating the U.S. security commitment to the Asian ally in the wake of the ship sinking that left 46 sailors dead.
"The ministers urged North Korea to take responsibility for the attack," the two sides said in a joint statement. "They also called upon North Korea to refrain from further attacks or hostilities against the ROK and underscored that there would be serious consequences for any such irresponsible behavior."
The disaster has been the dominant security issue in the region for months, completely overshadowing international efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear programs.
Pyongyang has denied any role in the attack. But after the U.N. Security Council issued a mild rebuke over the sinking, the North has been making a series of conciliatory moves, including expressing its willingness to return to the stalled six-party nuclear disarmament talks.
South Korea, however, views Pyongyang's outreach as a ploy to duck responsibility for the sinking, and has urged the North to show sincere willingness to give up its nuclear programs if it wants to reopen the stalled nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S.
Clinton shared Seoul's view, saying resuming the nuclear talks "is not something we're looking at yet." The North should first take responsibility for the ship sinking and demonstrate sincere willingness to dismantle its nuclear programs, she said, "but to date, we have seen nothing" indicating change in Pyongyang's stance.
The joint statement also urged the North to demonstrate its genuine will for denuclearization with concrete actions.
Ahead of the formal talks, Clinton and Gates made a highly symbolic visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea, together with their South Korean counterparts, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Defense Minister Kim Tae-young.
It was the first time for the foreign and defense chiefs of the U.S. to visit the DMZ together.
"We are here today not just to show our appreciation for the vital work U.S., ROK and other forces do in maintaining the armistice, but also to send a strong signal to the North, to the region, and to the world that our commitment to South Korea's security is steadfast," Gates said at the DMZ. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
Clinton urged the North to stop isolating itself from the international community and choose a better future for its impoverished population of 24 million. She also stressed that the U.S. security commitment to the South will remain strong until the North changes.
"There is another way. There is a way that can benefit the people of the North," Clinton said. "But until they change direction, the United States stands firmly on behalf of the people and the government of the Republic of Korea. We provide a stalwart defense to our allies and partners."
The two top U.S. officials also visited Seoul's War Memorial of Korea, where they laid a wreath and paid tribute to U.N. troops killed in the Korean War and to the 46 sailors killed in the Cheonan's sinking.
Gates and Seoul's Defense Minister Kim agreed Tuesday on a series of large-scale joint military exercises. The drills are "designed to send a clear message to North Korea that its aggressive behavior must stop," Gates said.
On Wednesday, the 97,000-ton U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington arrived at South Korea's southeastern port of Busan for a four-day drill set to begin Sunday. The exercise will also involve some 20 ships and more than 200 aircraft, including four F-22 Raptors that will fly on training missions in and around Korea for the first time.
jschang@yna.co.kr
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