By Kim Young-jin
The United States has urged the international community to take extreme care when doing business with North Korea, days after the Stalinist regime announced new economic projects with main ally China.
China's state news media confirmed Thursday that the sides broke ground to develop Hwanggumphyong Island and the Rason Free Economic Zone, both in the North, into major joint economic areas.
“We urge transparency, extreme caution and vigilance in any business dealings with North Korea,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters in response to the reports.
The groundbreaking followed on the heels of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s trip to China last month, leading analysts to believe he successfully agreed to the joint development projects in exchange for food aid. The deepening cooperation raised concerns that sanctions on Pyongyang for its missile and nuclear programs could lose their teeth.
Washington urges “all United Nations member states to fully implement” U.N. Security Council resolutions that “target North Korea’s continued involvement in proliferation, nuclear weapons development and luxury goods procurement,” Toner said. Pyongyang is believed to be exporting missile systems to Iran and other countries in breach of U.N. sanctions.
Washington has been pressuring Pyongyang to warm ties with Seoul and commit to denuclearization steps as a path to resuming multilateral negotiations.
On Friday, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell backed Seoul’s view that inter-Korean talks must precede any resumption of the six-party talks. The allies are also on the same page that the North should apologize for two deadly provocations last year before the two Koreas sit down together.
Such efforts are in limbo, however, after the North recently pronounced it would never speak to the Lee Myung-bak administration, abruptly squelching efforts to move forward. Pyongyang denies involvement in the sinking of the warship Cheonan.
An improvement in the food and economic situation is seen as key for Pyongyang as it attempts to pass power from Kim to his youngest son and heir, Kim Jong-un, leading some to wonder whether it will pursue the path of economic reform that Beijing is pushing.