N.K. financial sanctions are still on table

The United States and South Korea are not ruling out the possibility of imposing financial sanctions on North Korea as punishment for its latest nuclear test, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said yesterday.

"We discussed a range of options. As you know, there are discussions in New York to look at the kinds of action to take. I don`t want to rule in or rule out specifics right now, except to say that here, we`re focused less on specific actions that can be taken, and more on our long-term strategy and how to proceed," Steinberg said following a meeting with Vice Foreign Minister Kwon Jong-rak.



A draft resolution submitted to the United Nations Security Council by the United States shortly after North Korea`s second nuclear blast on May 25 calls for new sanctions including a freeze on overseas North Korean assets and denying the communist nation access to international banking and financial services.

The United Nations is said to be moving toward a consensus on new sanctions on Pyongyang, although progress is said to be slow due to a reticent China and Russia. More discussions are scheduled on the subject between the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and South Korea and Japan.

Addressing the possibility of further provocations from the North, Steinberg yesterday stressed that the allies discussed the need to "work together very closely in the event of any contingencies."

North Korea is currently seen to be making preparations to fire mid and long-range missiles from either coast, according to military sources here.

Experts believe such preparations, along with the May 25 nuclear test, were largely to unify the North Korean public and prepare them to accept Kim Jong-il`s youngest son Kim Jong-un as heir to power.

The North recently took the first steps to formally designate the junior Kim, according to lawmakers citing the National Intelligence Service.

Seoul and Washington are reportedly getting ready for a possible "succession crisis," according to Steinberg. He added that whatever countermeasures were prepared, the members of the six-nation talks aimed at North Korea`s deuclearization would coordinate their policies.

"I think what we recognize is that we have a common interest in preparing for whatever developments take place in the North. We focus on how we can continue to work together to make sure, no matter what happens in North Korea, that we have a common approach, that we have a shared assessment, and a common strategy, and we can build on a strong bilateral relationship to work with our partners in Tokyo, Russia and China, to make sure that however events develop, that we have a common path," he said.

Steinberg arrived in Seoul on Tuesday, leading a delegation of high-profile American officials including Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey who is in charge of cracking down on terrorism-related funds, Wallace Gregson, assistant secretary of defense for Asian Pacific affairs and Stephen Bosworth, special representative on North Korea policy.

They delegation also visited Japan and will stop by Beijing before returning home.

Further discussion on North Korea is expected to be held between the two allies when Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan meets with his U.S. counterpart Hillary Clinton in Washington on Friday.

By Kim Ji-hyun



(jemmie@heraldm.com)