19 November 2009
End Distractions and Take Serious Steps, Obama Tells North Korea
Washington — The door is open to peacefully resolve the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and allow it to become more integrated with the international community, President Obama says. But Pyongyang must take concrete action and work with its partners in the Six-Party Talks to make progress on the core issues of the discussions.
Obama spoke with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul November 19, the last stop on the president’s nine-day trip to East Asia. He said both countries will continue to have “extraordinarily close coordination” on efforts to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for “the reduction of sanctions and its increasing integration into the international community.”
The Six-Party Talks, which also include China, Russia and Japan, have seen a pattern “in which North Korea behaves in a provocative fashion, it then is willing to return to talks. It talks for a while and then leaves the talks, seeking further concessions,” Obama said. As a result, “there is never any progress on the core issues,” he said, and both he and President Lee “agree on the need to break the pattern.”
For North Korea to enjoy reduced international sanctions and greater integration, it must take “serious steps” on the nuclear issue. “We will not be distracted by a whole host of other side items that end up generating a lot of meetings but not concrete action,” Obama said.
President Lee said it is important to know whether North Korea actually has a “genuine intent” to “fully and verifiably” give up its nuclear weapons program. He welcomed the increased pressure on Pyongyang through United Nations Security Council sanctions that were adopted in June, and said he believes international cooperation to peacefully resolve the issue is “perfect.”
“I think we are entering into a new chapter in bringing this issue to an end,” Lee said.
President Obama and President Lee also discussed U.S.-South Korean trade ties, and Obama said he is committed to seeing both countries work together to move the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement forward.
“I am a strong believer that both countries can benefit from expanding our trade ties,” he said. “There are still issues that are being discussed and worked on and we have put our teams in place to make sure that we are covering all the issues that might be a barrier to final ratification of the agreement.”
He said American companies and workers are “very confident in our ability to compete.” U.S. officials recognize that “there is not only an economic but also a strategic interest in expanding our ties to South Korea.”
OBAMA WARNS IRAN OF CONSEQUENCES
During his remarks, Obama also discussed the situation in Iran. Obama said Iranian leaders have been “unable to get to yes” in response to an offer by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that would allow their country to have uranium enriched in another country for use in its medical research reactor.
“This was a smart, creative proposal that could lead to a path in which Iran was no longer in breach of its international agreements,” he said.
With Iran’s failure to give a positive response, the United States has “begun discussions with our international partners about the importance of having consequences,” Obama said.
Iran needs to get a “clear message,” he said. “When it fails to take advantage of these opportunities … it is not making itself more secure; it’s making itself less secure.”
Over the “next several weeks,” the United States and its partners who are engaged in the dialogue with Iran over its nuclear activities “will be developing a package of potential steps that we could take that will indicate our seriousness to Iran,” he said.
“I continue to hold out the prospect that they may decide to walk through this door. I hope they do,” Obama said.
A transcript of the remarks by Obama and Lee is available on America.gov.
