US pressure on N.Korea may not be effective: Seoul
SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. pressure on North Korea can squeeze its finances
but may not reform Pyongyang, South Korea's top policy maker on the
North said on Wednesday in comments that highlight recent friction with
Washington.
The United States has increased pressure on North Korea recently with a
crackdown on firms it suspects of aiding Pyongyang on illicit
activities such as counterfeiting.
Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said the U.S. crackdown has dealt a
painful blow to the North, but its long-term effectiveness in making
the North behave more responsibly was questionable.
"I agree that, when it comes to having an impact on the North, it has
been a very strong tool," Lee said.
"But it is an entirely different question whether the tool will be
effective, from a strategic viewpoint, in leading the North to reform,
ease tension and establish peace," Lee told a forum of senior
journalists in Seoul.
South Korea earlier this week used unusually blunt language to
criticize remarks made by U.S. President George W. Bush's point man on
human rights in North Korea, calling him biased and ill-informed.
The envoy questioned some aid and cooperation projects the South had
with the North, saying they could be counterproductive because they may
help support the rule of North Korea's leaders.
"The South Korean government opposes any attempt to transform the
North's system," Lee said
North Korea has said the U.S. crackdown was an attempt to topple its
leadership through financial pressure and it would be unthinkable for
it to take part in six-country talks on its nuclear weapons programs
until Washington drops the measures.
"The six-party talks are the best way to go, and it's our judgment that
when those talks happen, North Korean human rights and the financial
sanctions issues can be discussed."
The U.S. Treasury Department last year said a Macau bank was involved
in North Korea's illicit financial activities and froze about $20
million of North Korean funds in the bank.
South Korea has tried to use quiet diplomacy on North Korea to better
human rights in a country criticized by rights workers of running a
network of prison camps and holding public executions to intimidate the
masses.
Washington, Tokyo and the European Union have tried to raise exposure
of suspected human rights abuses in North Korea and bring pressure on
Pyongyang to change.
Seoul and Washington have agreed North Korea needs to return to the
nuclear talks among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United
States. The last round was held in November.
But South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told a news briefing on
Wednesday, participants had made few substantive moves to spur the
stalled talks, which he said would not be held just for the sake of
holding a meeting.
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