WASHINGTON (AFP) ― North Korea is unlikely to abandon its nuclear weapons before US President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009, his special envoy said Thursday, calling for a revamp of six-party talks on the crisis.
Jay Lefkowitz, special envoy for human rights in North Korea, also accused China and South Korea of not exerting enough pressure on North Korea during the talks that first began in 2003 to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive.
"It is increasingly clear that North Korea will remain in its present nuclear status when the administration leaves office in one year," he told a forum in Washington.
Using unusually sharp words, he said North Korea "has not kept its word," was "not serious about disarming in a timely manner" and "its conduct does not appear to be that of a government that is willing to come in from the cold."
Lefkowitz also accused Pyongyang of being a "serial proliferator" and using its nuclear arms to "extort" foreign aid, saying there was no guarantee that US military and nuclear strength could prevent it from passing on nuclear arms or technology to Islamists or their backers.
North Korea beat Bush. But in a refreshing show of candor, the Administration admits its failure....
The US President's special envoy for human rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz, said Thursday that the secretive Stalinist/Kimist regime is not likely to give up its nuclear weapons before Bush leaves office next January.
Lefkowitz also accused China and South Korea of not putting enough pressure on Pyongyang during the talks that first began in 2003 to end its nuclear weapons drive.
"It is increasingly clear that North Korea will remain in its present nuclear status when the administration leaves office in one year," Lefkowitz said in Washington.
Weasel Words
His harsh language contrasted sharply with the weasel words of Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher ("Kim Jong") Hill, whose dovish devotion to diplomacy as an end instead of a means has allowed one of the planet's most deranged and dangerous governments to make a fool out of Washington.
For one thing, Lefkowitz avoided referring to North Korea by its formal name, the DPRK--which Hill delights in using, as if to show off his sophistication (to his boss, academician-turned-Secretary of State Condoleezza RIce).
Lefkowits said North Korea "has not kept its word," was "not serious about disarming in a timely manner" and "its conduct does not appear to be that of a government that is willing to come in from the cold."
Proliferation and Extortion
Lefkowitz accused North Korea of being a "serial proliferator" and using its nuclear arms to "extort" foreign aid, saying there was no guarantee that US military and nuclear strength could prevent it from passing on nuclear arms or technology to Islamists or their backers.
His remarks came after Pyongyang missed a key December 31 deadline to disable its main nuclear facilities and give a full declaration of its atomic programs in return for economic aid under a deal agreed in February 2007.
North Korea never intended to comply with the six-nation nuclear accord. As China Confidential has predicted, Pyongyang will refuse to provide information on a secretive uranium enrichment program alongside its plutonium powered nuclear plant.
New Approach
Lefkowitz called for a "new approach" in disarmament talks--"perhaps even bilaterally"--with North Korea that would permanently link human rights as part of the engagement policy and a critical condition for any normalization of diplomatic relations.
"The six-party talks have not involved human rights. However, there is a valid question of whether this continues to make sense," he said.
He said his proposed new concept of dialogue with North Korea could evolve to resemble the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which emerged with the Helsinki Final Act as a significant step toward reducing Cold War tensions.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: January 17, 2008 Filed at 10:56 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S. official, in a rare public departure from Bush administration policy, criticized on Thursday the nuclear talks with North Korea, which he contended is not serious about disarming.
Jay Lefkowitz, President Bush's envoy on North Korean human rights, said the North will likely ''remain in its present nuclear status'' when the next U.S. president takes over in January 2009, despite four years of nuclear disarmament efforts.
''North Korea is not serious about disarming in a timely manner,'' Lefkowitz told an audience at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, referring to the North's recent missed deadlines and a surge in what he called ''bellicose language.''
''We should consider a new approach to North Korea,'' he said.
Lefkowitz suggested that negotiators link human rights and security concerns, something not achieved under the six-nation talks aimed at reaching an agreement under which North Korea dismantles its nuclear program. The North's treatment of its people, he said, is ''inhumane and, therefore, deeply offensive to us.''
''The key,'' Lefkowitz said of his proposal, ''is to make the link between human rights and other issues explicit and non-severable, so that it cannot be discarded in any future rush to get to 'yes' in an agreement.''
Lefkowitz's comments are at odds with recent statements by other Bush administration officials. However, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, when asked to comment, said the administration believes that six-party talks remain the best opportunity to reach the goal of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
''While it's unfortunate that North Korea has not yet provided a complete and correct declaration, we continue to work with Japan, South Korea, China and Russia in urging North Korea to fulfill its commitments in this regard,'' Perino said.
Early in the administration, U.S. officials took a hard line on North Korea. But, recently, they have been cautious not to criticize the North for fear of unraveling the delicate nuclear negotiations.
When the North missed an end-of-2007 deadline to declare all of its nuclear programs, the comments by the chief U.S. envoy to the nuclear talks were measured. Christopher Hill pushed the North to quickly produce a ''complete and correct'' declaration. But he also indicated that the U.S. was prepared to wait.
Hill has said he hopes the North's declaration would serve as a roadmap for dismantling its atomic programs by the end of 2008.
Lefkowitz, when asked if he was speaking on behalf of the Bush administration, said U.S. policies ''are under review right now'' but avoided answering the question directly. ''I'm not sure any policy, at any point in time, is set in stone.''
After four years of six-nation talks, he said, ''it makes sense to review the assumptions upon which previous policy was built and make sure they are still valid today.''
Some former Bush administration officials, including John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, have criticized the current U.S. approach to dealing with North Korea.
Lefkowitz criticized China and South Korea -- which, along with the U.S., North Korea, Japan and Russia, make up the six nations -- for preferring ''the status quo over a process of change'' and for not using their leverage as the North's major benefactors to spur nuclear talks.
''China probably would prefer that North Korea not have nuclear weapons, but not at the expense of its other national interests,'' he said.
He compared North Korea to ''an inherently fragile regime desperately clinging to power,'' and said the North, like other ''repressive regimes,'' creates ''enemies abroad to justify their authoritarian rule at home.''
