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Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Wednesday said South Korea¡¯s "time and patience are running out" over North Korea's delay in declaring details of its nuclear weapons program. Yu's remarks are the firmest public statement on the North Korean denuclearization issue yet made by South Korean government officials, especially coming from the man in overall charge of foreign and security policy.
Some observers say that Yu's statement was a clear message at home and abroad that the new government will not rule out the use of sticks as well as carrots vis-à-vis the North.
In the same context, Gen. Kim Tae-young, the designated chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a parliamentary confirmation hearing on Wednesday, "What is the most important is to identify and hit enemy locations suspected of storing nuclear weapons." Gen. Kim made the remarks when asked, "How would you react if North Korea develops small nuclear weapons and attacks South Korea with them?"
A South Korean government official said the minister ¡°showed the government's strong will on the North Korean nuclear issue." Yu also clarified the new government's changed principle toward humanitarian aid to the North. "We should give aid to the North if there is a great need to do that,¡± he said. ¡°But giving the North large amounts of food aid every year definitely goes beyond the humanitarian level¡± -- a hint that food aid will continue on a reduced scale.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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