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In his State of the Union Address on Wednesday, U.S. President George W. Bush said, "We're working closely with the governments in Asia to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions." This was the only mention of North Korea he made in the entire address. Through what he did not say that day as much as through what he did, however, President Bush sent a message to Pyongyang.
Bush mentioned the North¡¯s nuclear issue but not its regime. By contrast, he castigated Iran for stripping its citizens of freedom while developing nuclear weapons. His decision to mention one but leave out the other can be read in two ways.
First, Bush¡¯s restraint could be a tacit invitation to Pyongyang to quickly come back to the six-party talks. North Korea has taken the attitude that it would decide on whether to restart the talks based on the attitude the Bush administration takes toward it. In essence that means that President Bush must not criticize the North Korean regime in his State of the Union address ? a condition the U.S. president satisfied.
Another explanation is that the U.S. judges the North Korean nuclear crisis to be so pressing that it must put the regime issue on the back burner. That view is supported by U.S. newspaper reports claiming ¡°with 90 percent certainty¡± that North Korea exported uranium to Libya for use in building nuclear weapons.
The evidence secured by the U.S. government is circumstantial, and indicates that Libya's uranium didn't come from another country besides North Korea. Nonetheless, the important thing is that U.S. scientists declared themselves 90 percent certain that Pyongyang sold the nuclear materials to Libya, and the White House's North Korea policy will unfold against the backdrop of that judgment.
The U.S. government has set for its "red line" North Korea's exports of nuclear technology, material or weapons to states or groups that pose a terrorist threat. It may now be more than 90 percent certain North Korea has crossed this "red line." Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Washington has taken the position that it will not even permit the possibility of such a situation developing. That is why the U.S. invaded Iraq based on a "reasonable suspicion" the country was building weapons of mass destruction. Leaving aside whether that attitude is proper or not, it is the international reality.
As President Bush revealed when he said his administration was ¡°working closely with the governments in Asia," the U.S. intends to solve the North Korean nuclear issue by diplomatic means. If Pyongyang gives up its nuclear ambitions, it will be compensated. It's clear, however, that the U.S. will not watch with arms crossed a North Korean nuclear issue that may have already crossed over the "red line."
Pyongyang has little time.
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