Former President Jimmy Carter may
believe that the North Korean regime really wants to rejoin
negotiations with the United States, but according to the State Department's
top Asia official, North Korea will first have to make nice with South Korea.
In recent weeks, there has been a flurry of
diplomatic activity between the countries involved in the almost-defunct Six
Party Talks, with U.S., South Korean, Chinese, and Japanese negotiators meeting
in various configurations. The talks, which
were organized in 2003 to confront
Pyongyang about its nuclear weapons program, broke down in 2008. After returning from his rescue mission to Pyongyang, where he was completely snubbed by Kim Jong Il, Carter now believes that a
resumption of negotiations is within reach, a position that puts him out in
front of what most Obama administration officials are willing to say.
In fact, in the wake of the
sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, the State Department is making it clear they won't get
ahead of Seoul in engaging North Korea. Almost all South Korean outreach to
North Korea has been halted and the U.S.
position is that a thawing of North-South ties must precede any direct
engagement from the United States.
"In the current environment given
what has just transpired, we think an essential first step needs to be some
re-engagement between North and South Korea. And I think that is going to be
critical going forward," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and
Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell
testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday. "And as we have
long held, we also think that it's going to be significant that North Korea
again, as we've said in the past, underscore its commitment to fulfill its
commitments that it took in 2005."
Campbell
was testifying alongside assistant
secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs Gen. Wallace "Chip" Gregson and General Walter Sharp, commander of United
States Forces Korea.
Following high-level visits to
Washington by both Chinese and South Korean officials who deal with the Six
Party Talks, Ambassador Stephen Bosworth,
U.S. Special Envoy Sung Kim, and the
National Security Council's Daniel
Russell traveled to Seoul, Tokyo, and Beijing to get a readout of the
current state of play. Campbell traveled last week to Beijing as well, along
with National Economic Council Chairman Larry
Summers and the NSC's Tom Donilon
and Jeffrey Bader.
Carter now not only believes that the
North Koreans want to come back to the table; he also argues that "the Chinese are
actively promoting the resumption of the six-party talks." Campbell is not so
sure.
Following
China's reluctance to blame North Korea for the sinking of the Cheonan and difficult
negotiations
over a presidential statement at the U.N., there is a realization inside the
administration that the United States and China are not communicating as well
as they should be on the North Korean issue. The recent shuttle diplomacy is
meant to address that.
"The truth is that the Cheonan incident, I think, makes clear
that China has a very complex calculus that they look at on the Korean
Peninsula," Campbell said. "I think there was an appreciation that the United
States and China must step up its dialogue on the Korean Peninsula, and we are
seeking to do so."
Leading senators on the Armed
Services Committee from both parties called on the administration to get
tougher with China and harshly criticized the Chinese Communist Party
leadership for its recent defense of North Korea's provocations.
"We've
heard about stepping up dialogue with China for a long, long time, and it
hasn't resulted in anything as far as I'm concerned," said Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI). "You say that this
event and their failure to take a decent position and response to the attack on
the ship, you said complicates their relationship with South Korea. Well, it
sure doesn't help their relationship with us as far as I'm concerned... So I
think it's totally unacceptable and I think China ought to be told in no
uncertain terms that it complicates its relationship not just with South Korea,
but with us as well."
Ranking
Republican John McCain (R-AZ) also
bristled at Campbell's comment about Chinese commitment to the Six Party Talks.
"Secretary
Campbell, one of the reasons why we get a little cynical around here is
exemplified by the comment you made about China," he said. "‘Step up its
dialogue.' Remarkable statement. The Chinese have not only not helped us with
Korea over the years, they have been an obstacle to increased sanctions."
"China's
response to North Korea's recent provocations calls into question its
willingness to act as a responsible stakeholder in the international system,"
McCain said.
He also
criticized what Campbell identified as the administration's policy of
"strategic patience" with North Korea, which basically amounts to not giving in
to Pyongyang's saber-rattling or brinksmanship with bribes or concessions,
while waiting for serious indications they are willing to negotiate in good
faith.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) directed his
firepower at Carter, lambasting him for not even mentioning the Cheonan incident in his Washington Post op-ed, which he called
"awful.'
"[Carter]
fails to mention the Cheonan
incident. And that certainly puts in doubt his conclusion that the leadership
of North Korea that he spoke to is anxious to reengage again," Lieberman said,
noting how out of step Carter's argument was with the administration's stated
policy.
"Frankly, I, too, was surprised by the omission
of the Cheonan in President Carter's
op-ed," Campbell responded.
Read More
(3)
HIDE COMMENTS LOGIN OR REGISTER REPORT ABUSE