'Everything possible' if N.K. demonstrates denuclearization commitments: White House official

By Chang Jae-soon and Roh Hyo-dong WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's demonstration of its commitment to denuclearization would make "everything" possible, a senior White House official said, as the communist nation has repeatedly been pressing for peace treaty negotiations. Daniel Kritenbrink, senior Asian affairs director at the National Security Council, made the remark during an interview with Yonhap News Agency in response to a question about the U.S. position on Pyongyang's demand for talks on a peace treaty aimed at formally ending the Korean War. "Everything is possible as long as North Korea demonstrates that it is serious about denuclearization," he said during the interview held Wednesday in the ornate Secretary of War Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door to the White House. Throughout the interview, the official repeatedly made the "everything is possible" comments. The North has stepped up the demand for peace treaty talks in recent months. The U.S. has rejected the idea as a nonstarter as long as the North has nuclear ambitions. U.S. officials have stressed that they should first focus on negotiations to end its nuclear program. "North Korea needs to demonstrate that it is fully committed to denuclearization, which is what it is obligated to do under the 2005 Joint Statement and a whole series of U.N. Security Council resolutions. If North Korea were to demonstrate a sincere commitment to denuclearization, then everything is possible, Kritenbrink said. The official also said President Barack Obama's administration has made clear that it is willing to engage countries with which it has had difficult histories, such as Myanmar, Iran and Cuba, but stressed that it won't engage in talks simply for talks' sake. The six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled since late 2008. Pyongyang has demanded the unconditional resumption of negotiations, but the U.S. has reponded that Pyongyang must first take concrete steps demonstrating its denuclearization commitments. A senior administration official said on condition of anonymity that the U.S. won't give up efforts to resolve the nuclear issue, adding that the administration is taking actions designed to "sharpen Pyongyang's choices." "We're doing our part, but we also want our allies, partners to do their part, as well. Both of us together. We're implementing sanctions," the official said. Kritenbrink touted South Korea as a "central" partner playing a "very critical role" in Obama's rebalance to Asia policy aimed in part at building a rules-based order in the region amid martime disputes between China and Southeast Asian nations. "Korea is central. When you think about building and sustaining this rules-based order, it really does start with our treaty allies and certainly we have no more important treaty ally than South Korea," he said. The official also said that trilateral cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and Japan is very important and very much in their collective interests, whether it's about dealing with threats from North Korea or standing together in defense of a rules-based order. "That's why we've invested a great deal of energy in encouraging our friends in both Seoul and Tokyo to show flexibility and courage and a forward-looking approach to hopefully resolve some of the outstanding historical issues that are out there between Seoul and Tokyo," he said. "We hope to see continued progress on those kinds of issues so that we can get beyond the issues of the 20th century and focus on our common interests and challenges in the 21st century," he added. Meanwhile, the senior administration official, who request anonymity, said that the U.S. was "quite impressed by and quite pleased" to see South Korean President Park Geun-hye making "strong statements" on many of these issues, including on maritime issues, during last month's East Asia Summit meeting in Kuala Lumpur. During the meeting, Park called for freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution of the disputes. The official also said that South Korea has also been a great partner in other global and transnational challenges, such as climate change and global health. "Really, on the whole range of issues, South Korea continues to play, I think, a critical role not just in our rebalance strategy but on really regional peace, prosperity and I would say increasingly global peace and prosperity," he said. He, however, declined comment on a possible visit to North Korea by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, only saying that the U.S. will welcome any steps that help make progress in North Korea's denuclearization and improvement of its human rights situation. The official expressed strong support for President Park's vision for unification. "President Park has a clear, positive, and better vision for what the Korean peninsula could look like, should look like: a unified Korean peninsula that is democratic, free, dedicated to its people's prosperity," he said. jschang@yna.co.kr rhd@yna.co.kr (END)