Chosun Shinbo, published by the Chongryon (General Association of North Korean Residents in Japan), said on Thursday that, “The Obama administration, overwhelmed by pending problems like the economic crisis and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, is facing another unavoidable problem, the nuclear issue on the Chosun (Korea) Peninsula.”
Chosun Shinbo, a mouthpiece of the North Korean regime, emphasized, “It needs to make a quick and realistic countermove so as not to cause more difficult diplomatic troubles.”
Regarding the “new era of responsibility” in the Obama Inaugural Address, the newspaper claimed that, “If he means that the U.S. will act cooperatively on the international stage, throwing out despotic and authoritarian modes of behavior, they should grab the chance for a peaceful security system in Northeast Asia. The nuclear issue on the Chosun Peninsula could be a turning point.”
It quoted Obama as saying, “With old friends and former foes, we’ll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat,” and asserted, “North Korea and the U.S. have been foes for more than a century. The only tactic the Obama administration can rely on right now is the September 19 Joint Statement, which states that they will denuclearize the Chosun Peninsula through the normalization of relations.”
It explained further, “The normalization of relations cannot be accomplished by one side’s surrender. Chosun is in opposition to the diplomatic abandonment of nuclear weapons with the normalization of relations coming as a gift.”
The publication added, “As long as the U.S. nuclear threat remains, Chosun cannot abandon nuclear weapons regardless of the normalization of relations.”
“If the Obama administration acts according to North Korean suggestions, its efforts to put the brakes on nuclear proliferation may make a difference,” it concluded.
Meanwhile, the White House released the agenda of the Obama/Biden team on Wednesday via its newly-remodeled website, saying that regarding the nuclear weapons issue they “will crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so that countries like North Korea and Iran that break the rules will automatically face strong international sanctions.”
With respect to partnerships in Asia, it noted that, “Obama and Biden will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea.”
