[USFK Forums] US Not Trying to Punish N. Korea [Korea Times]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Sunday, March 12, 2006

US Not Trying to Punish N. Korea

THE KOREA TIMES, Friday, March 10, 2006 17:53
By Park Song-wu, Staff Reporter

Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said in Seoul on Friday that the United States is trying to ``prevent'' North Korea from counterfeiting U.S. bills in the future, rather than trying to ``punish'' Pyongyang for its financial illegalities.

``I personally think that Washington's policies are focused on prevention and interception rather than punishment,'' he told lawmakers at a breakfast meeting at the National Assembly.

Lee said that Seoul has ``serious'' concerns over North Korea's alleged involvement in counterfeiting the U.S. bills and laundering them at a bank in Macau, which was blacklisted by the United States in September as a ``primary money-laundering concern.''

``We delivered our stance to North Korea, underlining that Pyongyang should come up with appropriate measures,'' he said. ``Seoul wants this issue to be resolved through ways that are based on international norms and common sense.''

As for North Korea's recent proposal of launching a non-permanent body with the United States to jointly address the counterfeiting issue, Lee estimated it was a proactive change in policy for Pyongyang.

``Compared to the past, Ri Gun talked a lot this time and put his cards on the table,'' Lee said. ``I heard that the U.S. government is now reviewing the North's proposal. Washington's approach to it is not negative.''

Ri, director of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's North America affairs bureau, attended a briefing hosted by the U.S. Treasury Department in New York on March 7 in which Washington explained why it imposed a regulatory measure on the bank in Macau.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking official in the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C. told reporters on Thursday that the New York meeting was useful in helping North Korea and the United States reconfirm their willingness to resume the six-party nuclear talks.

``We have detected a number of signals, indicating the rising possibility of reopening the talks,'' the official said on condition of anonymity. ``But I can't say whether the signals could bring about a specific date to kickoff the dialogue.''

Answering a question on the possibility of reopening the talks before Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States next month, the Seoul official said, ``There are such hopes, but it's a matter of common sense. It is difficult to say that a consensus has been reached.''

The denuclearization talks have been in limbo since November when North Korea declared that it will not return to the negotiating table unless Washington lifts financial sanctions against Pyongyang.



im@koreatimes.co.kr

03-10-2006 17:53

(END)