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Administration Seeks Stronger North Korea Sactions Enforcement
June 26, 2009 4:21 PM
ABC News' Yunji de Nies reports: Senior administration officials say they are working to limit threats posed by North Korea, by focusing on better enforcement of existing sanctions, and close scrutiny of all financial transactions between the private sector and Pyongyang.
“What we're trying to do is work with our partners around the world to prevent North Korea from misusing the international financial system to support its nuclear missile proliferation activities and its other criminal and illicit conduct it engages in,” a senior administration official said.
Speaking with reporters on background, the officials, who asked not to be named, said North Korea’s recent “shocking defiance of the international community” has “galvanized very strong support.”
The officials said in the coming days Ambassador Phil Goldberg will lead an interagency team, which will organize various federal agencies, including the departments of State, Treasury, Commerce, and the National Security Council, to deal directly with the threats raised by North Korea. Goldberg will be focused strictly on sanctions implementation. The officials said the ambassador’s team would follow the model of a similar group organized by then-Vice President Gore, headed by Leon Fuerth that dealt with sanctions on Serbia during the Balkan wars. Goldberg’s team will also interact on an international level, starting with China, who has also created a similar team of its own.
One official said that key regional players, including Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, are all in agreement that existing sanctions must be more effectively implemented.
“There's a broad consensus about the need to have a focus and engaged effort to see that these sanctions are implemented, to make sure that each of the elements are implemented, and that we're sharing information with each other,” the official said.
Officials said that the efforts would not be limited to government, but that the private sector must play a key role.
“There's a really important private sector component, which is that the private sector wants to protect itself from this illicit financial activity, they have a stake in the integrity of the system, and they have a stake in their own reputations,” the official said.
The officials would not comment on the possibility of another nuclear test by North Korea, saying only, “they have publicly threatened to do things, and so we're watching it very carefully.”
One official said that after North Korea’s recent missile launches and nuclear test, there is a strong sense that the Chinese government is deeply concerned.
“The sentiment that was expressed to me there was that a nuclear North Korea is at least as threatening and maybe more threatening to us than it is to you,” the official said. “I think there is a real recognition that the consequences of North Korea going nuclear is not just a question of whether they're going to use a nuclear weapon against any one of us, but what it means for the whole security of the region. And the Chinese are profoundly aware of that. They know that an operational nuclear capability in North Korea changes the game in Northeast Asia in ways that they don't want to see.”
The officials said that the administration still believes that convincing North Korea to move away from pursuing nuclear weapons is “a realistic goal.” They said that recognizing Pyongyang as a nuclear power is simply “off the table.”
June 26, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (40)
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Terry GWB is the guy that took NK off the state sponsored terrorist list is that the wonderfuly smart move that you are talking about?
Posted by: mike | Jul 5, 2009 1:29:57 PM
Sorry if you people are afraid of this little tin dictator then you are morons. They try to scare the US by firing SCUD missles? What a joke. I mean 20 years ago in desert storm we shot down every one Iraq fired at us and you are afraid of them now? There military is a jokewe could level that whole country in a instant. Please afraid of N korea dont make me lauph.
Posted by: mike | Jul 5, 2009 1:24:48 PM
"Bush had it right. Pre-emptive strikes in defense of our country. The hell with the rest of the world."
Bush just killed tens of thousands of Iraqis - many innocent civilians - women and children. Many thousands more were injured or maimed - they lost legs, arms, eyes. Millions more were displaced from their homes.
The american people were sold a slate of lies to justify a war the neo-cons and right wing Republicans wanted.Tens of thousands killed - many civilians. No weapons of mass destruction were found. No connection with the 9/11 attacks was ever documented.
This is the righteousness of the mentality of pre-emptive strikes and 'the hell with the rest of the world'.
Posted by: danita | Jun 28, 2009 10:11:54 PM
Stronger sanctions??? Why, they, Obama Administration, won't enforce the ones they have now.....
Posted by: Parallex View | Jun 28, 2009 8:24:55 PM
Obama sought talks
Direct, without condition
Spring hope meets cold world
Posted by: Terry | Jun 28, 2009 7:38:18 PM
I'm more concerned about the brutal coup that took place right under our noses in Honduras.
Posted by: blip | Jun 28, 2009 4:11:54 PM
Traffic Cop Timmy . ...
I understand that for you President Obama can do nothing right.
It's easy to see where you're coming from, but don't expect anybody to take you seriously when you repeatedly condemn what the man does.
Fair-minded people without a personal political agenda to smear the President find he's doing lots right. Not perfect by any means - but we saw the alternative for the past 8 years under Bush and Cheney and the improvement is remarkable.
People have not forgotten the mess created (and left) by Bush and Cheney.
Posted by: danita | Jun 28, 2009 5:22:30 AM
Bush took us into Iraq for these reasons, and we found nothing but loss of American lives over the whole event let alone money... How is it we know that these whackos have these weapons of mass destruction yet we do nothing here? It makes no sense to me.
Posted by: myson | Jun 28, 2009 2:13:17 AM
Hmmmmm.... It's a lot easier to criticize a president than it is to be one ... What happened to "All we have to do is enter direct negotiations with them..."? He has now adopted the Bush strategy with North Korea and with Iran: Instead of letting them make it about the US, get the neighbors involved - get them to apply pressure since they live next to these countries. Mr. Obama is starting to make Mr. Bush look like a genius.
Posted by: Terry | Jun 27, 2009 11:33:54 PM
Blah, Blah, Blah!
Whats next?
Will President Obama threaten to
hold his breath until he turns blue if
the North Koreans don't back down?
Pathetic!
Posted by: reaganfan | Jun 27, 2009 9:22:03 PM
danita, you complain about conservatives taking quotes out of context. You've done the same with your Glode quotes. Go read the article in the NY Times.
The most confrontational approach taken in years? Well, that makes sense since:
"Until now, American interceptions of North Korean ships have been rare."
And what is the result of this brave new policy?
"the United States would report any ship that refused inspection to the Security Council"
Report them after asking permission and being refused? Ooh. Scary!
And it's not like this is Obama's tough stance:
"The strategy of ordering ships to stop but not provoking military action by boarding them was negotiated among Washington, Beijing and Moscow."
Obama will get nowhere anyway:
"Nearly 16 years of on-and-off negotiations — punctuated by major crises in 1994 and 2003 — were based on an assumption that ultimately, the North was willing to give up its nuclear capability."
And here is why:
"subsidiaries of North Korean missile makers in China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, where the North has its biggest customers."
Posted by: Traffic Cop Timmy | Jun 27, 2009 7:33:14 PM
I hear the President is in Hawaii for a Luaau or something. LOL The President is obviously a spolied moron and doesnt take the North Korea or Iran problems very seriously does he? He actually is putting himself in harms way by going to Hawaii isnt he? Didnt North Korea just threaten to nuke there with a missile? Does he think his presence there will stop this or encourage it? I guess he is just fine as long as he can tell the USA what to do. Never mind that the rest of the world is readying to attack us. Great guy you elected there dems. The smoker who preaches about healthcare, takes lavish jet plane vacations but cautions us about driving our SUV's.
Posted by: guesswhaturwrong | Jun 27, 2009 6:54:52 PM
"WASHINGTON - The Obama administration will order the Navy to hail and request permission to inspect North Korean ships at sea suspected of carrying arms or nuclear technology, but would not forcibly seek to board them . . .
". . . the administration's plans, if fully executed, would amount to the most confrontational approach taken by the United States in dealing with North Korea in years."
Boston Globe
Posted by: danita | Jun 27, 2009 5:53:42 PM
"stronger NKOR sanctions"????? Obama
has pulled back on the threat to board
the cargo vessel, for crissakes.
Posted by: Trajan | Jun 27, 2009 5:38:12 PM
Terry . ..
Nobody limited negotiations to 'direct talks with North Korea". China, Russia, Japan, South Korea (and the UN) have always been involved.
Posted by: danita | Jun 27, 2009 2:39:35 PM
I thought that direct talks with the North Koreans was the answer... Maybe GWB was on the right track with six party talk... It was just so much easier to criticize a president than it is to be one!
Posted by: Terry | Jun 27, 2009 11:31:29 AM
"Can't help to wonder if some kind of Russian card can't be played in this? It worked against the Russians when Nixon went to China.
I can't believe that Russia doesn't view Red China or North Korea as a threat to their eastern territories."
Gulag I think that's exactly the type of stuff that's going on right now behind the scenes. Both Russia and China are key players in isolating and containing North Korea.
Posted by: danita | Jun 27, 2009 2:41:26 AM
Can't help to wonder if some kind of Russian card can't be played in this? It worked against the Russians when Nixon went to China.
I can't believe that Russia doesn't view Red China or North Korea as a threat to their eastern territories.
Posted by: Gulag | Jun 27, 2009 2:20:26 AM
The Iranian president quite openly believes in an imminent apocalypse, to be ushered in by the mysterious Thirteenth Imam. When he gave a speech at the UN in NYC, he said he was surrounded by some kind of protective aura, or something. And they say Bush was nutty because he said he talked with God. But hey, I'm sure we can reason with Ahmadinejad. No problem.
While we're at it, we can reason with the Dear Leader of North Korea - the guy with the largest porn collection in the world. No problem there either. We just need a "smooth operator" like our current President to persuade them to cut it out.
Yea, that'll work...
Posted by: Traffic Cop Timmy | Jun 27, 2009 12:37:21 AM
How much you wanna bet if we nuked North Korea (I say during one of its marches or anti- USA protests) that it would not only ask for a 'truce' but 'surrender' the very next day!
Posted by: guesswhaturwrong | Jun 27, 2009 12:08:02 AM
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