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Media interest in the upcoming summit between Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush is intensifying amid expectations in Washington that the meeting could be a turning point in resolving the North Korean nuclear dispute.
¡ß New York Times on Roh¡¯s ¡®new set of enticements¡¯
The New York Times on Monday said Roh would try to win Bush over to a ¡°new set of enticements¡± for North Korea when the two meet on Friday. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon denied any such plans, but the paper said word of the enticements came from Korean National Security Council officials who visited the U.S. last week.
¡°South Korea's new plan is expected to include a series of carefully sequenced steps for North Korea, Washington and other nations, at a level of detail that goes far beyond the plan proposed last June,¡± the paper said.
Last June, a U.S. proposal called on North Korea to ¡°completely, verifiably and irreversibly¡± dismantle its nuclear programs after a three-month preparation period. During that period, South Korea and China would provide energy aid, and the U.S. would later start to normalize ties with Pyongyang.
The NYT did not say what Roh¡¯s ¡°new set of enticements¡± might include.
¡ß Hardline-moderate clash within U.S.
With a meeting between U.S. and North Korean officials on Monday ending without palpable results, hardliners could find themselves in the ascendant if North Korea refuses to return to talks even after the summit. Washington has shown both its hardline and moderate faces, so much so that it is impossible to tell what the true face is. President Bush himself called Kim a ¡°dangerous man¡± and ¡°tyrant,¡± but later suddenly referred the North Korean leader as ¡°Mr.,¡± which North Korea interpreted as an honorific.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called ¡°a little forward-leaning¡± remarks by a high-ranking Pentagon official that the U.S. would decide ¡°within weeks¡± whether to drag North Korea before the UN Security Council. That is being read as a manifestation of conflict between hardliners and moderates in the administration.
The NYT said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, ¡°is looking for leeway to give North Korea incentives to return to the talks but is meeting resistance from officials who want to stand pat with Mr. Bush's vaguely worded offer last June to improve relations once North Korea begins dismantling its nuclear facilities.¡± The U.S. media believes the South Korea-U.S. summit resolve the split one way or the other.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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