Obama, Lee agree on tough response to N. Korea's launch

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LONDON, April 2 Kyodo -
U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak agreed
Thursday to seek a tough global response to a planned rocket launch by North
Korea and to coordinate closely in dealing with the matter, South Korean
officials said.
During bilateral talks in London, the two presidents ''concurred that the
international community would need to adopt a stern and united response if the
North launches a long-range rocket,'' Seoul's presidential office said in a
statement.
Obama told Lee that the ''expected missile launch would be a violation'' of a
relevant U.N. Security Council resolution, a senior U.S. administration
official told reporters.
The U.S. president was also quoted by the official as saying, ''The U.S. and
South Korea would consult closely about how to respond firmly at the U.N.''
The meeting came a day after Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso
reaffirmed that if North Korea carries out its planned rocket launch, the issue
should be taken to the U.N. Security Council.
North Korea has declared that it plans to put an experimental communications
satellite into orbit, notifying aviation and maritime organizations in advance
in accordance with international norms.
The United States, South Korea and Japan suspect the planned launch is a cover
for the test-firing of a Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile because the
technology involved in launching a satellite is the same.
A U.N. sanctions resolution passed in 2006 after North Korea announced its
first-ever nuclear test requires Pyongyang to suspend ''all activities related
to its ballistic missile program.''
Japan, where part of the rocket would fly over if launched as planned, is
stepping up diplomatic efforts in hopes of winning support for a Security
Council resolution in response to North Korea's launch.
North Korea's military warned Japan, the United States and South Korea earlier
Thursday that it would retaliate by force against any attempt to intercept its
rocket.
Obama also emphasized Washington's ''unchanging goal'' of the verifiable
elimination of North Korean nuclear weapons and weapons programs, the senior
U.S. official said.
He said the United States sees the six-party talks on denuclearizing North
Korea as a ''good mechanism for dealing with that,'' adding that Pyongyang
''will not be able to drive a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea.''
The six-way talks, which involve the two Koreas, the United States, China,
Japan and Russia, have been stalled since December, when they broke down over
differences on ways to verify Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
Before his meeting with Lee, Obama told reporters that South Korea is one of
''America's closest allies and greatest friends'' and he praised Lee's
leadership. Obama invited Lee to Washington for a bilateral summit on June 16,
and the South Korean president accepted.
==Kyodo
2009-04-02 21:23:04