,
SEOUL: The United States said Wednesday it would ask a reluctant South Korea to reconsider its approach on North Korea amid concerns the secretive regime was preparing another nuclear weapons test.
With US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice en route to Asia to press for strict enforcement of UN sanctions on Pyongyang, US officials want Seoul to help inspect North Korean cargo and re-think a joint project.
“She's not coming here to tell anyone what to do,” said Christopher Hill, the lead US negotiator on North Korea, after talks with South Korean officials here ahead of Rice's visit.
US ambassador Alexander Vershbow said Rice would ask Seoul to take part in ship inspections as part of UN sanctions imposed over the North's October 9 nuclear test.
Both China and South Korea have indicated they do not want to intercept ships from North Korea, concerned about aggravating the Pyongyang regime, which warned of “merciless” action against nations that try to enforce sanctions.
It called the sanctions a “declaration of war.”
The United States wants South Korea to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a US-led maritime inspection programme aimed at stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Pyongyang's confirmed nuclear test has deepened US worries that the North, part of President George W. Bush's “axis of evil,” will transfer weapons and sensitive technology to anti-US groups and nations.
“There are obligations for sanctions on North Korea, also obligations to inspect certain cargos,” Rice told reporters on her plane.
The US secretary of state will visit Japan, South Korea, China and Russia during her tour, with her first stop in Tokyo on Wednesday for talks with her Japanese counterpart Taro Aso.
“It is extremely important to recognise that this is a set of obligations under (UN Resolution) 1718 that I think all states are determined to carry out,” she said.
Vershbow said Rice would ask Seoul to join the PSI, Yonhap news agency reported, and urged a review of financial deals with the North “to ensure that the purposes of the UN resolution are achieved.”
South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun has continued his predecessor's “sunshine policy” of engagement with the North, including two cross-border projects that provide cash-poor Pyongyang with tens of millions of dollars annually.
Many South Koreans believe Roh, whose approval ratings have been sagging, has allowed their money to be used — through the Kaesong industrial and Mount Kumgang tourist projects — to build a nuclear weapon that now threatens them just across the border.
Hill said Tuesday that Mount Kumgang “seems to be designed to give more money to the North Korean authorities” but added it was not for him to be advising Seoul on the issue.
“I'm sure they are doing a very comprehensive study of all inter-Korean dialogue projects and I'm sure when the South Korean authorities are ready to discuss this, they will do so,” he said.
The Seoul government indicated after the UN sanctions were passed Saturday that it would continue with both the North Korean projects.
But with South Korea dependent on US force to ward off the North — Seoul is under the US nuclear defence umbrella, and there are 29,500 US troops here — Washington will have some diplomatic leverage to use.
Roh is facing a new wave of anger since the nuclear test was carried out.
“Many people here are bewildered at the government's move of continuing the engagement policy as if nothing has happened,” the Korea Times said in an editorial.
“The North reciprocated with a nuclear test, betraying the South that has offered them astronomical amounts of cash and material assistance,” it said.
