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SLUG: 6-12815 OP RDNP (02-10).rtf
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DATE=02/10/03 TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP TITLE=NORTH KOREA/U-S NUMBER=6-12815 BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE DATELINE=WASHINGTON TELEPHONE=619-3335 CONTENT= INTRO: There is growing concern in the editorial pages about the standoff regarding North Korea's nuclear program. We get a sampling now from V-O-A's _______________in today's U-S Opinion Roundup. TEXT: Some American editorial writers are worried about the potential consequences, if the United States and its allies do not soon engage North Korea in dialogue. We begin in Ohio, with the Akron Beacon Journal. VOICE: North Korea's Kim Jong Il seems nothing if not tuned to the Bush administration's dilemma. Preoccupied with Iraq and wary of the North's nuclear potential (and its readiness to retaliate against South Korea), the White House cannot respond forcefully to the transparent blackmail North Korea is perpetrating. [Mr.] Kim's provocative moves - - from re-starting the Yongbyon reactor capable of producing fuel for nuclear warheads to wild threats about "total war" - - presumably are meant to ratchet up pressure on the United States to grant North Korea sole audience and assurance it won't face a U-S attack. ... The administration is right that the conflict is not between North Korea and the United States. The priority in this most dangerous situation is to get North Korea to the bargaining table, where its concerns can be addressed, along with the larger issues of regional security and arms proliferation. TEXT: Views of the Akron [Ohio] Beacon Journal. In Florida, The Miami Herald would also like to see negotiations. VOICE: The cat-and-mouse game between the Bush administration and North Korea must end. Serious talks must begin. Too much is at stake to continue the war of words that currently preoccupies each side. History teaches that circumstances like this are ripe for misunderstandings, which can lead to unintended actions and disastrous consequences. . The [Bush] administration's strategy of indirect talks thus far has produced nothing. TEXT: The Honolulu, Hawaii Advertiser suggests that "Decisive action [is] needed." VOICE: The Pentagon has started to put important assets, such as. B-52 bombers, on alert for possible deployment within range of North Korea. It's about time. Distracted, even obsessed by Iraq, the Bush administration is on the brink of failing in one of its most. crucial responsibilities: to keep North Korea from becoming a nuclear power. TEXT: Boston's Christian Science Monitor suggests: VOICE: To help the U-S . enter bilateral talks with North Korea and defuse this crisis, [President] Bush and the incoming South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyun, must reach a common negotiating stance. The two have more overlapping interests than differences. If the U-S can then talk to Pyongyang solo, while also representing the interests of South Korea (and Japan), then North Korea may come into line. TEXT: California's leading daily, The Los Angeles Times, sees the situation this way. VOICE: The Bush administration's proclaimed willingness to talk directly with North Korea about its nuclear weapons program is overdue. Today would be a fine time to start. Meanwhile, it would hardly seem rash for the Pentagon to be thinking of sending more bombers to the area to protect our troops. ...it's time for Washington to stop shouting "blackmail" and repeat that it can help the desperately poor country with food and fuel - - so long as it lets nuclear inspectors back in and halts its atomic weapons program. TEXT: On that note, we conclude this editorial sampling of comment on the current state of U-S North Korean relations. NEB/ANG/TW |
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