US to Maintain Tough Stance in Dealing With NK
Kim Young-jin
Staff Reporter
The United States will continue to take a tough line on North Korea at a time when the latter is a ``broken state,'' John Hamre, former U.S. deputy secretary of defense and now leader of a Washington-based think tank, said Wednesday.
``The posture (of the United States) is we're happy to negotiate with North Korea if North Korea agrees that its current strategy is wrong,'' said Hamre, president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), at a forum in Seoul. ``It continues to rely on nuclear intimidation and that's not a solution, it's not a strategy and we will not accept it.''
During his speech, Hamre ― who is also chairman of the Defense Policy Board, a federal advisory committee that provides analysis to the White House ― touched on various issues related to the President Barack Obama administration's East Asia policy.
It is widely speculated North Korean leader Kim Jong-il will pay a visit to China in the near future for talks with President Hu Jintao, during which many believe the impoverished country will agree to return to the stalled six-party talks on its denuclearization in return for renewed food aid.
Many speculate that rejoining the talks could be an effort to secure external support in order to control an increasingly shaky internal situation. Hamre advocated for a confident strategy in dealing with the reclusive state.
``We do not need to beg the North to work with us. We need to just be very confident,'' he said, adding that perhaps the best tactic would be to hold up South Korea's success for those in the North to see.
``There is a path forward for the North that is successful and prosperous and healthy. The path they are on right now is leading to a sicker, weaker, poorer country.''
FTA
The American scholar expressed his disappointment that the administration has been ``frozen'' on trade policy, preventing it from ratifying the Korea-U.S (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was signed in 2007.
President Obama and other U.S. officials have placed the country's pending FTAs with Korea, Columbia and Panama as a key part of an ambitious drive to double the country's exports over the next five years. But it has yet to take significant steps to bring the KORUS deal to Congress.
If ratified, he said, the FTA would have a positive effect not only on U.S.-Korea ties but also regional stability.
``Everyone in Asia is worried about the power of a rising China, but no one in Asia wants to confront this China on military terms,'' he said. ``And they think that an America that is present in Asia only in military terms is a problem.
``They want an America present and active in foreign policy terms, and in Asia, foreign policy is overwhelmingly about trade policy.''
On the role of the U.S. military in Korea, Hamre said stability in the region depends on the United States ``standing with Korea'' on a permanent basis, to ensure that it is "always strong and free."
As for how many troops should be stationed here, the former senior defense official said the number should be determined by ongoing discussions between the two countries.