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Richard Lawless, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Asia and the Pacific, said Thursday his government was getting ready in case North Korea does not return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks.
At a hearing of the House International Relations Committee, Lawless said, "We are preparing ourselves for the possibility that the DPRK has made a strategic decision to abandon the talks. We certainly hope that that's not the situation." Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Washington's representative to the six-party talks, reiterated the U.S. line that there is no deadline for Pyongyang to come back to talks but added, ¡°Clearly the situation can¡¯t go on forever.¡±
Hill made an unusual criticism of Beijing. "If [the Chinese] ultimately fail, if they fail to get their very close friend to come to the table, the six-party process is going to fail,¡± he said. ¡°I would agree with you that there is enough influence there that they should be able to convince their very close friend to come to the table. And they haven't done it. So this is indeed a problem." He urged China to take a more active role, saying, "China needs to, for the interests of these talks¡¦ that they host in Beijing, they need to get their close friend -- by whatever means -- to come to the table."
Hill appeared to calm fears that Washington is angry with Seoul for continuing contacts with Pyongyang. ¡°I think it's very important that the Korean people be allowed to carry on that dialogue. And we also support their effort to give humanitarian assistance, because we have people in North Korea who are literally ¡¦ malnourished,¡± he said. ¡°It's their peninsula, they're -- these are all the same people... So we have to be respectful of the fact that this is a terrible tragedy that left that peninsula divided."
Lawless meanwhile reassured the committee that the Korea-U.S. alliance is in better shape than reports have suggested. "We have come to agreement on the relocation of Yongsan Garrison, as well as the entire 2nd Infantry Division, to enduring facilities south of Seoul. We have agreed to transfer 10 specific missions, areas, from United States responsibility to the responsibility of the Republic of Korea. That process is well under way as I speak. We have come to agreement on the redeployment of 12,500 American soldiers from Korea over the next few years,¡± he said. ¡°With the full cooperation of the Republic of Korea, we have accomplished all of this in a relatively short period of time. We're very proud of that record."
The U.S. plans to hold bilateral talks on the North Korean nuclear dispute with South Korea and Japan next week in Washington.
Meanwhile, about rumors the Pyongyang was preparing for a nuclear test, North Korea's Korea Central TV said Thursday, "After speaking ill of our republic as an outpost of tyranny and a fearful country, the U.S. has come up with a fabrication about a missile test and an underground nuclear test." This is the first direct public denial North Korea has made concerning signs of the country was preparing for an underground nuclear test.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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