South Korea outlined plans to intensify diplomatic pressure on North Korea yesterday, after its unpredictable communist neighbor said it would expel UN inspectors and press on with its nuclear program.
The US, keen to maintain its focus on Iraq, told North Korea it sought a peaceful end to the crisis on the world's last Cold War frontier, but insisted it would not negotiate under duress.
As Washington and its allies cast around for a way to stop the country restarting a reactor capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, North Korea's enigmatic leader, Kim Jong-il, relaxed at a concert where an army choir praised him in song.
The Bush administration, banking on diplomacy to bring Kim back into line, said the impoverished country's relations with the outside world hinged on an end to its nuclear weapons program.
"The United States will not negotiate in response to threats or broken commitments," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said after China and Russia called for dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.
In Crawford, Texas, where US President George W. Bush is spending New Year at his ranch, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the use of force was not under consideration.
"We continue to seek a peaceful resolution of the situation ... ," McClellan said on Friday.
"We will continue our consultations with friends and allies."
Isolated since the end of the Cold War, North Korea has suffered economic collapse and food shortages that have killed two million people and left about a third of its 22 million population dependent on foreign food aid.
The North's Korean Central News Agency accused Washington on Friday of seeking to overthrow its political system. Yesterday it carried a report on Kim's concert.
"Kim Jong-il congratulated the artistes of the chorus ... and highly appreciated the feats they have performed in encouraging the army and people in their sacred struggle to defend the socialist system of the country," it said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS