N. Korea yet to show signs of change despite pressure: U.S. official

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. defense official said she has yet to see
"definitive signs of change" in North Korean behavior despite pressure on the
communist state to change course on its nuclear and missile programs.
"Their actions have been very provocative. Their rhetoric has been very
provocative. We have not yet seen any definitive sign of change," Michele
Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, said.
Flournoy was in South Korea as part of her Asia trip that also took her to China
and Japan this week.
She met with South Korea's top diplomatic and security officials earlier Friday
on ways to implement a U.N. Security Council resolution punishing North Korea for
its May 25 nuclear test.
Flournoy said she had "a very good exchange" of opinions with officials in China
-- a North Korean ally considered to hold the key to the successful
implementation of the resolution.
But she said her country and China have yet to reach an agreement on a common way
to tackle North Korea, which also appears to be preparing to test-fire a
ballistic missile.
"Those conversations have yet to yield a common strategy, so we have to keep
looking," she said, noting that the U.S. still has "incentives and disincentives
that will get North Korea to change course."
"Everything remains on the table, but we're focused on implementing the
resolutions fully, responsibly and with our international partners," she told
journalists in Seoul.
Her trip came as U.S. authorities were tracking a North Korean ship suspected of
carrying weapons banned under the resolution.
"This is not a resolution that sponsors, that authorizes use of force for
interdiction," she said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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