Though 46 South Koreans lost their lives when North Korea torpedoed their ship, South Koreans don't want to get in a war with North Korea, which is some of the best news I've read all month.
But the fervor petered out as quickly as it arose. Voters did not rally round their president in Wednesday's local and regional elections. There was no Korean version of the "9/11 effect" that many had predicted. Instead, Lee's ruling Grand National Party was clobbered, stunned party bosses quit in shame and North Korea pronounced itself pleased.
The election results suggest that many South Koreans, even those who are angry at North Korea for the Cheonan's sinking and the deaths of their countrymen, are more concerned about maintaining peace than with teaching Kim a lesson. This is a really good story to read at WaPo
Reason over might:
"There is no winner if war breaks out, hot or cold," said Lim Seung-youl, 27, a clothing distributor here who voted for the main opposition Democratic Party. "Our nation is richer and smarter than North Korea. We have to use reason over confrontation."
The President has expressed his deep sympathy to President Lee and the Korean people for the loss of 46 sailors on the Republic of Korea Navy ship Cheonan that was sunk on March 26 by a torpedo. The United States strongly condemns the act of aggression that led to their deaths.
The report issued today by the team of international investigators reflects an objective and scientific review of the evidence. It points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that North Korea was responsible for this attack. This act of aggression is one more instance of North Korea’s unacceptable behavior and defiance of international law. This attack constitutes a challenge to international peace and security and is a violation of the Armistice Agreement.
The President spoke with President Lee on May 17 and made clear that the United States fully supports the Republic of Korea, both in the effort to secure justice for the 46 service members killed in this attack and in its defense against further acts of aggression.
North Korea must understand that belligerence towards its neighbors and defiance of the international community are signs of weakness, not strength. Such unacceptable behavior only deepens North Korea’s isolation. It reinforces the resolve of its neighbors to intensify theircooperation to safeguard peace and stability in the region against all provocations.
I keep watching these conservative folk, totally joyless about the return of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, totally joyless in the demonstration of diplomacy, and I had an aha moment. Their egos are too large to appreciate such things as diplomacy. They can't share in the joy because they don't see Win Wins. They only see Win. If the U.S. isn't dominating whichever country we're dealing with, they think of it as weak, appeasing or encouraging the bad guy.
Hillary Clinton was a bigger person, egoless, in this instance. North Korean leaders called her a school girl, yet she was able to defer to her husband to achieve a bigger goal. Republicans continue to view the U.S. as the big kid on the block who tells everyone else what to do. But that's not the world we live in anymore and they haven't figured that out yet.
We feel very good about the humanitarian mission, she said from Obama's birthplace of Kenya (kidding!). Ha! She really is in Kenya. Now it's time to talk nukes with the North Koreans. Andrea Mitchell said that Hillary also warns Americans to stay away from hostile countries.
The NY Times has a good story telling everyone's role in freeing Euna Lee and Laura Ling. It was a team effort and no egos stood in the way:
Mrs. Clinton was deeply involved in the case, too. She proposed sending various people to Pyongyang — including Mr. Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore — to lobby for the release of the women, before Mr. Clinton emerged as the preferred choice of the North Koreans, people briefed on the talks said. ..... North Korea signaled its desire to have Mr. Clinton act as a special envoy in conversations with Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee, who relayed that message to their families in the middle of July, according to a senior administration official. The message was passed to Mr. Gore, who contacted the White House, which then explored whether such a mission would be successful.
Mr. Obama did not speak directly with Mr. Clinton before the mission. But his national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, contacted the former president to sound him out. The senior official said the administration did “due diligence” with the North Koreans to ensure that if Mr. Clinton went, he would return with the journalists. He also denied that Mr. Clinton apologized as a condition of obtaining the pardons from the government.
As president, Mr. Clinton had sent Mr. Kim a letter of condolence on the death of his father, Kim Il-sung, according to a former official. For Mr. Kim, the former official said, freeing the women was a “reciprocal humanitarian gesture.” Read the whole thing.
The Obama administration seems to have separated itself from Clinton's efforts so that it could get back on track with credible six party talks. Not mixing the two was brilliant if you ask me.
CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk reports that, according to Ambassador Sin, Pyongyang is prepared to negotiate directly with Washington about Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program: "We are ready, any time," he said.
But the Obama administration has stuck to the framework of the six-party talks. Those negotiations, involving the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the U.S., have been unhinged several times, with Pyongyang returning to the development of its nuclear program and the testing of ballistic missiles.
For North Korea, those negotiations will not restart.
"We have already made our position very clear," Ambassador Sin told CBS. "The six-party talks are gone forever. We will never participate in the six-party talks again. Never again." Read the whole thing at CBS News
Why no more 6 party talks?
North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Sin, offered Pyongyang's explanation. "We have proceeded very well about denuclearization on our side with what we have agreed upon in the six-party talks, but we were cheated. We were cheated, simply I say, by other parties. The other parties of the six-party talks did not implement what they have agreed, what they promised in the six-party talks. So we do not trust them."
Why they seek nukes?
The most ominous comment, however, was perhaps the explanation of why the North pursues their nuclear program. "We are always exposed to the nuclear threat of the U.S.," Ambassador Sin said. "Japan and South Korea are under the protection of the nuclear umbrella by the United States. And our neighboring countries are all-powerful with nuclear weapons. There is only one country – DPRK – with nuclear vacancy in the region. We are defenseless, so it is our last option – to possess the nuclear deterrent."
The man in the platform shoes is grooming his son to take over by teaching him how to launch missiles:
North Korea's recent belligerence, in the view of many analysts, is related to a succession process underway in Pyongyang. The country's leader, Kim Jong Il, is 67 years old and has appeared frail and weak since suffering a stroke last summer.
He is believed to be positioning his third son, Jong Un, 26, to take over as leader. The nuclear test, multiple missile launches and frequent threats of war, analysts say, may be a way of demonstrating that Jong Un would be a strong leader who would resist outside pressure, as his father has done.
North Korea has threatened to launch another long-range missile. But it is believed to need at least several days of preparation before a launch, and no such preparations have yet been observed, according to military officials in Seoul. WaPo
Lee, leaving South Korea at around 09:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT), will have a summit with President Obama on Tuesday to discuss over cooperative plans for denuclearizing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and inspecting the conditions of the South Korea-U.S. combined defense.
In particular, the two leaders are to jointly adopt a statement entitled "The Joint Vision for the Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. alliance" in a move to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
Issues related to the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), awaiting ratification by both countries' parliamentary bodies, the ongoing global financial crisis, and industrial technology alliance will also be dealt in detail during the summit, local media reported. Xinhua
What's the deal with North Korea? It is like an incorrigible child. What exactly do they want and why is it so hard for anyone to figure out what they want? This week Obama meets with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
Read more at the state department here. Russia favors strong consequences for North Korea:
Russia has come out in favour of a tough United Nations resolution against North Korea following its recent nuclear and missile tests. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the move was not designed to lead to military confrontation and that a diplomatic solution to the problem must be found.
Russia has traditionally joined China in refusing to criticise North Korea but has categorically condemned Pyongyang's latest nuclear test. The UN Security Council is discussing a new resolution on North Korea and the United States is pushing for tough sanctions to be imposed.
North Korea, meanwhile, appears to be ignoring the widespread international criticism and has resumed work at its Yongbyon nuclear plant. The plant can produce plutonium, which can be used to produce nuclear weapons. Radio Netherlands
South Korea is playing down North Korea's threats. Apparently, they're used to it:
South Korea’s president, Lee Myung-bak, lauded his people on Wednesday for their “mature response” to the North’s behavior. He noted that the North’s nuclear test and its six subsequent short-range missile launchings did not affect stock and foreign exchange markets beyond initial jitters.
Seoul, the South Korean capital, with a population of 10.4 million, is just 35 miles from the North Korean border and within the range of North Korean missiles and artillery. But most South Koreans and foreign investors here are accustomed to threats from the North and usually react calmly. NYT
Silly Newt. Hasn't he figured out we've moved past the fear mongering? It's only the hard right extremists that thrive on this kind of stuff. He criticizes Obama for nearly everything but doesn't offer any solutions of his own, only Ronald Reagan's. I'm wondering what exactly he thinks we should do about North Korea? People like Newt are dangerous because they live in the past. This guy is the biggest Reagan idolizer there is. It's almost embarrassing for him because that's all he talks about. But we live in a different world now. Reagan doesn't have all the answers anymore.
Politico: The U.S. is at greater risk of terrorist attack because of the Obama administration's actions, Newt Gingrich said Monday.
In a chat with POLITICO readers, Gingrich also called the administration’s response to the North Korean missile launch a “vivid demonstration of weakness in foreign policy.” He said Obama’s proposals for a resumption of nuclear arms limitation talks reflected “a dangerous fantasy that runs an enormous risk. ... Not since Jimmy Carter have we had an administration this out of touch with reality.”
“Dick Cheney is clearly right in saying that between the court decisions about terrorists and the administration actions, the United States is running greater risks of getting attacked than we were under President Bush,” said the former speaker of the House and Georgia congressman. ..... On the North Korean missile launch, he said “the embarrassing repudiation of the United States appeal to the United Nations Security Council Sunday afternoon is a vivid demonstration of weakness. This is beginning to resemble the Carter administration’s weakness in foreign policy.”
He said Obama’s speech on nuclear disarmament in Prague on Sunday “is a dangerous fantasy that runs an enormous risk. It is part of the Obama administration’s substitution of words for thoughts and fantasies for achievements.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is traveling to Asia. First stop is Japan, (February 16-18), next Indonesia (February 18-19), the Republic of Korea (February 19-20), and China (February 20-22).
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State, Office of the Spokesman En Route, Tokyo, Japan February 15, 2009
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I wanted to come back and talk to you about this trip. It's my first trip, obviously, as Secretary of State, and going to Asia is, for me, a very big part of how we're going to demonstrate the Obama Administration's approach to dealing with the multitude of problems that we see, but also the opportunities as well.
This region is indispensible to our efforts to seize the opportunities and meet the challenges of the 21st century, and it is part of a larger context in which we intend to create networks of partners in order to deal with the problems that no nation, even ours, can deal with alone. And for me, this means employing all the tools of smart power. And I will be discussing with the leaders with whom I'll be meeting not only our bilateral relationships and our relationships with institutions in the region, but joint efforts that we can undertake on behalf of global problems like climate change or nuclear proliferation, or specific issues like the future of our efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan and beyond.
Now, this is not just about meeting with leaders, though, because I think it's important that we get out of the ministerial buildings and listen to the people in the countries where I'll be visiting. So to that end, I'll be doing town halls and visits in areas of concern that we can discuss with NGO leaders and local officials.
This is not the first time I've been in these countries, but it's obviously the first time that I come in this capacity. But it's an opportunity to renew relationships with some people that I've known before, as well as those with whom I'll be meeting for the first time.
And it really is about listening as much as talking. I think that's an important point I want to underscore. We think it's not only a smart approach to engage our friends, partners, and have an opportunity to hear from them, but we also are looking for the best ideas about how to further the objectives of this Administration in pursuing peace and prosperity and progress.
The final point I would say is that the global economic crisis is the backdrop against which this visit takes place. The four nations I'll be visiting are all members of the G-20. They will be in London. I will be discussing with them the approaches that each are taking, explaining what we have just done with the passage of our stimulus bill, and seeking greater cooperation about how together we're going to work our way through these very difficult economic times.
But I'm optimistic and very much looking forward to this trip. I chose to go to Asia deliberately in order to send that message that we are reaching out. We do see Asia as part of America's future. As I said in my speech at the Asia Society, we are both a transatlantic and a transpacific power. And part of what I hope we can do is better understand and create the kind of future that will benefit both Asians and Americans.
So I'd be glad to answer questions. Read the Q&A here
Here's an interesting question on abductees (North Korea abducted Japanese citizens in the 70s and 80s to train North Korean spies):
QUESTION: On Japan, you showed an interest in the abductee issue, and I wonder if that is a suggestion that you share the Japanese concern that maybe the Bush Administration in its final year was in too much of a hurry to make concessions to the North Koreans.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I'm not going to comment on that, but I will say the abductee issue is an issue of grave concern. It's such a human tragedy. And I think all of us can imagine how we would feel if a family member or an entire family that we were connected to in some way just disappeared and were never heard from. And only in recent years have we learned what happened to them.
So we do want to press the North Koreans to be more forthcoming with information. It's part of the Six-Party Talks. It is not just a concern of Japan. It is a concern of the comprehensive framework that the Six-Party Talks represents, and so we will be raising it. And I will be meeting with some of the abductees' families. As I've traveled around the world for many years, I've met with victims of genocide and terrorism. I've met with families of the disappeared in Argentina. I feel such a sense of sympathy and empathy with people whose lives are so upended by actions like that, and I want to show that personal concern that I have as well as our government's concern.
Preview of Upcoming Trip to Asia Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Conference Call With Reporters Washington, DC February 13, 2009
OPERATOR: Good afternoon and thank you all for standing by. At this time, all lines have been placed on a listen-only mode until the question-and-answer session. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Robert Wood. Sir, you may begin. MR. WOOD: Thank you. Welcome, everyone. I have Secretary Clinton here. She’s going to make some very brief remarks, and then we’ll go to your questions. I’ll turn it over to the Secretary. SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much for joining me on this call. I am very excited about my upcoming trip to Asia and I am pleased that this will be my first trip as Secretary of State. I think it’s important to signal that we intend to develop broader and deeper relationships not only with the countries I’ll be visiting, but with other nations throughout Asia and the Pacific. We believe that our futures are inextricably linked. As you may know, I spoke from the Asia Society here in New York City, and they consider part of their mission being to prepare Americans and Asians for a shared future. And I think that very much sums up the approach that I want to take, and certainly, the opportunities that I see for stronger bilateral, regional, and global cooperation, as well as the ongoing rigorous engagement and collaboration to deal with the economic crisis, to strengthen our alliances, to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and to build on efforts to face challenges like climate change, clean energy, pandemic healthcare crises and so much more. So I’d be happy to take some of your questions. MR. WOOD: Okay. Operator, we’re ready for questions. Let’s go to question one. OPERATOR: Thank you. At this time, if anyone has a question, please press *1 to be added to the question queue. Again, *1 to ask a question. Thank you. Andrea Mitchell, you may ask your question. QUESTION: Thank you very much, Madame Secretary. Thanks for taking questions. You talked about North Korea in your speech, and I’m wondering what specifically do you want to see from Pyongyang in order for them to develop the relationship that you have signaled you’re interested in developing? And if I could also just parenthetically ask you, on a very sad note, knowing your familiarity with New York and with the 9/11 survivors, whether you knew Beverly Eckert and whether you had any comments about her death. SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Andrea, let me start by saying how deeply saddened I was to learn that Beverly Eckert was on the plane that crashed. You know, my thoughts are prayers are with all of the families who lost loved ones in that tragic crash that hit in Clarence Center and affected not only the entire Buffalo community, but far beyond Western New York. Beverly became a partner and friend of mine in our efforts on behalf of the families of the victims of 9/11, and she was instrumental in pushing for the creation of the 9/11 Commission. It’s such a terrible loss and so deeply tragic that someone who herself lost her husband on September 11th and who channeled her grief and anger into trying to make sure that never happened again in our country would be taken so soon. So I’m certainly joining with so many who knew Beverly and the many more who lost someone that they loved in expressing my sympathy. With respect to North Korea, the first point to make is that we hope North Korea will refrain from provocative actions and words at this time. We do want to work through the Six-Party Talks, and I will be discussing with South Korea, Japan and China how best to get the negotiations back on track. I think we have such an opportunity to move these discussions forward, but to do so, we have to be clear. If North Korea is genuinely prepared to completely and verifiably eliminate their nuclear weapons program, the Obama Administration wants them to know that we would be willing to normalize bilateral relations, replace the longstanding armistice agreements with a permanent peace treaty, and assist, along with others, in meeting the energy and economic needs of the North Korean people. QUESTION: Would you also be willing to engage in direct bilateral talks on the margins or outside of the Six-Party Talks? It’s already taken place previously, so it would not be setting a precedent, but are you willing to continue that or expand it? SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Andrea, I want to consult with our allies and our partners in the Six-Party Talks, and listen to them and hear what they believe are the best ways forward. Read more here.
Japan's shrinking economy-- the biggest contraction since 1974:
NPR: Clinton is traveling to Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and China. She told the Asia Society in New York that the new special envoy on climate change, Todd Stern, will be traveling with her and that they will visit a clean thermal power plant in Beijing. Clinton is also expected to raise human rights issues there, though she downplayed that when she spoke to NPR after her speech.
"I'm going to be discussing a comprehensive agenda with the leaders of each of the nations that I visit," Clinton said. "And human rights will be on the agenda, as will common efforts to deal with the global financial crisis and combat climate change, and prepare for pandemics, as well as work to enhance our security arrangements, and other opportunities that we see in front of us."
North Korea
In her speech to the Asia Society on Friday, Clinton said the U.S. is ready to normalize relations with Pyongyang if North Korea is genuinely prepared to completely and verifiably eliminate its nuclear weapons program.
"So much of it depends upon the choices that the North Korean government makes," she said. "Certainly, we are hopeful that they will not engage in provocative actions and words that could create a much more difficult path for us to walk with them."
Clinton said she will be speaking to U.S. allies in the region about how to get disarmament talks back on track.
Hillary is also sending a delegation to India to retrace the steps of Dr. Martin Luther King's trip to India, where he studied change through non-violence. Martin Luther King III will lead the delegation, which includes John Lewis and Andrew Young. The delegation will stop in Mumbai.
