ID :
200524
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 00:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/200524
The shortlink copeid
US intent to engage N. Korea not swayed by reports of shelling incident
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- The United States strongly indicated Wednesday that its efforts to engage North Korea won't be heavily affected by renewed military tensions on the peninsula.
South Korea said earlier that the North fired several artillery rounds into waters near their disputed western sea border. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that it returned warning shots but there was neither a direct clash nor casualties.
Hours later, however, the North's military denied any shelling.
The North's chief delegate to working-level military talks with the South claimed through Pyongyang's official news agency that the South overreacted to an explosion at a construction site.
The U.S. government formally urged Pyongyang to show restraint.
"We call on the DPRK to exercise restraint," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing. "What we want to see, as you know, is a continued improvement and improvement in the relationship between the North and the South."
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is North Korea's official name.
The Yellow Sea has long been a flash point between the two Koreas as Pyongyang refuses to accept a de-facto maritime border there.
In March 2010, 46 South Korean sailors were killed when their corvette was sunk by a North Korean torpedo in the area. Eight months later, the North launched an artillery barrage at a South Korean border island, killing two marines and two civilians.
Nuland hinted that Washington would not let the latest incident derail its move to engage Pyongyang. The two sides resumed high-level dialogue in late July and the U.S. is weighing additional talks.
"This incident is now over and we now need to move back to the main business at hand, which is for North Korea to show us, to show South Korea, to show its other partners that it's truly committed to the kind of goals that we have together in terms of denuclearization," Nuland said.
She repeatedly said in the briefing that the situation is over.
She added, "We want to see the North begin to take steps along the lines that we discussed in New York, so that we can get back to the six-party talks. But that's going to require a further commitment on their part to their obligations on the nuclear side."
She was referring to two days of meetings between North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea policy Stephen Bosworth.
"I think time will tell whether North Korea is willing to take the kind of steps we are asking for, that six-party talks colleagues are asking for," she added.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton briefly joined a meeting between South Korea's national security adviser, Chun Yung-woo, and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns at the department building in Washington.
Chun arrived on Tuesday for a three-day stay that officials said will focus on discussing next steps on North Korea and alliance issues, including the ratification of a free trade agreement.
South Korea said earlier that the North fired several artillery rounds into waters near their disputed western sea border. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that it returned warning shots but there was neither a direct clash nor casualties.
Hours later, however, the North's military denied any shelling.
The North's chief delegate to working-level military talks with the South claimed through Pyongyang's official news agency that the South overreacted to an explosion at a construction site.
The U.S. government formally urged Pyongyang to show restraint.
"We call on the DPRK to exercise restraint," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing. "What we want to see, as you know, is a continued improvement and improvement in the relationship between the North and the South."
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is North Korea's official name.
The Yellow Sea has long been a flash point between the two Koreas as Pyongyang refuses to accept a de-facto maritime border there.
In March 2010, 46 South Korean sailors were killed when their corvette was sunk by a North Korean torpedo in the area. Eight months later, the North launched an artillery barrage at a South Korean border island, killing two marines and two civilians.
Nuland hinted that Washington would not let the latest incident derail its move to engage Pyongyang. The two sides resumed high-level dialogue in late July and the U.S. is weighing additional talks.
"This incident is now over and we now need to move back to the main business at hand, which is for North Korea to show us, to show South Korea, to show its other partners that it's truly committed to the kind of goals that we have together in terms of denuclearization," Nuland said.
She repeatedly said in the briefing that the situation is over.
She added, "We want to see the North begin to take steps along the lines that we discussed in New York, so that we can get back to the six-party talks. But that's going to require a further commitment on their part to their obligations on the nuclear side."
She was referring to two days of meetings between North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea policy Stephen Bosworth.
"I think time will tell whether North Korea is willing to take the kind of steps we are asking for, that six-party talks colleagues are asking for," she added.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton briefly joined a meeting between South Korea's national security adviser, Chun Yung-woo, and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns at the department building in Washington.
Chun arrived on Tuesday for a three-day stay that officials said will focus on discussing next steps on North Korea and alliance issues, including the ratification of a free trade agreement.
