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U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Kathleen Stephens on Wednesday poured cold water on North Korea's apparent stratagem to make friends with the U.S. while leaving South Korea out in the cold. "The U.S. isn't interested in any suggestion that might alienate South Korea," she said.
Stephens made the remark in a lecture hosted by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation under the theme "Development of Seoul-Washington Relations and Peace in Northeast Asia." She said North Korea's gambit of cutting off cross-border traffic and suspending cooperation with the South will do it no good. Stephens gave credit to the South Korean government for its patience in the face of the North¡¯s latest shenanigans.
North Korea experts in the U.S. agree that Pyongyang's tough line on Seoul will hurt rather than benefit its relations with Washington. In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Dr. Oh Kong-dan, a researcher at the U.S. Institute for Defense Analyses, said North Korea is making "a mistake in its long-term strategy vis-a-vis the U.S."
Gordon Flake, executive director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, said if North Korea closes down the highly lucrative Kaesong Industrial Complex, as it appears to be threatening, it will find it hard to attract future investment from any country, including South Korea.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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