op-ed; South Korea, No Pressure On North Korea

Dancing With the Dictator
By JASPER BECKER
Anyone who expects South Korea to help the United States put pressure on the North hasn't been paying much attention to what has happened over the last five years.

Click to expand...

Dancing With the Dictator
By JASPER BECKER
Published: June 9, 2005
Beijing
THERE are hopes that President Bush's meeting tomorrow with President Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea, coming on the heels of the latest North Korean overture on restarting nuclear-weapons negotiations, may lead to a breakthrough. However, anyone who expects the South to help us put pressure on the North hasn't been paying much attention to what has happened between the two countries over the last five years.

... on and on...

WHY does Seoul pay so dearly to prop up the criminal regime? It has claimed that if North Korea were to collapse, it would cost $1.7 trillion to rebuild it, a sum that would cripple the South's treasury. But this figure seems preposterous.

... on and on...

Jasper Becker is the author of "Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea."

Click to expand...

"We share the same goals," Mr. Bush said in a brief question-answer session at the White House. "Peace on the Korean Peninsula and peace throughout the world."
...
But Mr. Roh has opposed a move toward sanctions that would cut off trade with North Korea, arguing instead for more engagement with the North.
...
Mr. Roh was expected to push Mr. Bush to offer more enticements to North Korea to return to the talks, and the potential for friction on that issue was evident. Mr. Bush, when asked by a reporter whether he was prepared to offer the North anything, noted that the other parties to the talks offered North Korea trade and economic incentives a year ago. "The plan is still there, and it's full of inducements," Mr. Bush said.

Click to expand...

Talk of consequences and timetables for moving to sanctions against North Korea were briefly suggested by a Pentagon official traveling last week with Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld ...Mr. Roh came here to discourage, his aides have said.

He came seeking assurances that Mr. Bush would not attack the North's nuclear facilities...President Bush reaffirmed his firm belief in a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issues...Yet, while Mr. Bush has said he was seeking a diplomatic solution, he has carefully preserved for himself the leverage of threatening force, saying that "all options" are on the table.
...
But there have been tensions, with some South Korean officials saying Mr. Bush, by calling the North's leader, Kim Jong Il, a "tyrant" who keeps his opponents in "concentration camps," has undercut negotiations. So on Friday Mr. Bush was extremely careful.

For the second time in two weeks, for example, he used "Mr." in describing the North Korean leader, aware, no doubt, that North Korea's commentators had welcomed a similar gesture last week.

Click to expand...