The U.S. has told partners in stalled six-country talks on North Korea¡¯s nuclear program that it will take punitive measures against the North under the UN Security Council resolution condemning Pyongyang¡¯s July missile tests, officials say. That suggests Washington will implement more sanctions against North Korea soon after the South Korea-U.S. summit in Washington on Thursday. ¡°It is not a matter of whether [the U.S.] will take punitive measures against North Korea under the UN resolution, but a matter of when and how,¡± a high-ranking official here told reporters Tuesday. ¡°We are in a situation where we cannot call for a delay in implementing the UN Security Council resolution.¡± Another government official said the U.S. is highly likely to put sanctions against North Korea into practice ¡°after the summit.¡±
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President Roh Moo-hyun meets with U.S. President George W. Bush in White House on June 10, 2005.
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One will be to step up scrutiny of North Korean ships. ¡°The U.S. is demanding that all North Korean vessels suspected of carrying technology related to weapons of mass destruction are subject to maritime inspections¡± under Resolution 1695, a diplomatic source in Washington said. The U.S. Treasury Department could designate some foreign banks involved in North Korea¡¯s U.S. dollar counterfeiting and money laundering as ¡°primary money-laundering concerns,¡± as it has already done with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia. The Bush Administration is seeking to reinstate economic sanctions against Pyongyang the Clinton Administration eased in return for North Korea¡¯s moratorium on missile tests in 2000. At the time, the move made most consumer goods available for export to North Korea, permitted import of North Korean goods, allowed investment in its agriculture and mining industries and roads, ports and tourism and opened commercial air and sea transport for cargo.
The U.S. believes the money from South Korea that goes to the North via the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt.Kumgang tourism could flow into Pyongyang¡¯s WMD development. Experts predict that more sanctions will put Washington on a collision course with Seoul. President Roh Moo-hyun arrived in Washington on Tuesday and meets President George W. Bush on Thursday.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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