Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

The sanctions towards a nuclear armed North Korea will not be relaxed as the United States makes an effort to reinvigorate a non-proliferation regime, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday.

“Current sanctions will not be relaxed until Pyongyang takes verifiable irreversible steps towards complete de-nuclearization. [North Korea’s Leaders] should be under no illusion that the United States will ever have normal, sanctions free relations with a nuclear armed Korea,” said Clinton during a speech in Washington, D.C.

Clinton emphasized that the message was not aimed solely at North Korea. According to the Secretary of State, the United States needs to set the example along with Russia to reduce both countries’ stockpile of nuclear weapons, the existence of which, Clinton contends, has sent the wrong message to other nations.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which guarantees countries the right for nuclear fuel, will not be effected in the reinvigorated non-proliferation regime.

“This should enable countries, especially developing countries, to enjoy the peaceful benefits of nuclear energy, while providing incentives for them not to build enrichment or reprocessing facilities,” said Clinton.

President Clinton:
Former President Clinton will meet with President Obama and NSC/State department staff on the situation in North Korea and his talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The White House will release a still photo from the meeting. President Clinton has had previous meetings with the NSC staff but not with President Obama. Asked if President Clinton would give remarks to the press at the stake out, Gibbs replied that he does not control who comes to the stake out anymore. President Obama has spoken with President Clinton only one time about North Korea which was when the two women landed in the United States on August 5, 2009. (more…)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the U.S. should abandon its “you’re either with us or against us” policy towards its allies. Clinton adds that the U.S. must keep working with its Asian partners on reaching a multilateral agreement on how to handle North Korea (0:40).

 

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David Menashri, Director for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University, explains how U.S. inaction toward North Korea may have lead to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. As the third country named in Bush’s “axis of evil,” Menashri explains, Iran felt that the best way to defend itself was to develop nuclear technology and stall U.S. military involvement. (0:55)

 

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Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen argues that, as a long-time economic partner of Iran, Russia may play a critical role in reducing Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But, Cohen adds that Russia may want to avoid tension with Iran because of its commercial interests in the Middle-Eastern state. (0:31)

 

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Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, warns that North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons may lead to conflict in the Korean peninsula. Sherman also warns that North Korea represents a threat due to its history of greed which may lead it to sell weapons to whomever will pay for them. (0:36)

 

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Selig Harrison, Senior Scholar with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy, says President Barack Obama is not taking the necessary steps to appease the North Korean crisis. Harrison explains that not sending Al Gore to North Korea is a mistake because the former Vice President could try to negotiate the liberation of the two Current TV journalists currently detained in North Korea. Al Gore could also reduce the tensions between the North Korea and the international community. (0:28)

 

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Congressman David Scott (D-Ga.) describes life in North Korea as one of despair, stating that Kim Jung Il does not care for his people. Scott says that North Koreans are starving because their government is solely concerned with its image abroad — implying it may become a nuclear state. (0:50)

 

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By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

In the midst of a global crisis, two wars and nuclear threats, it is crucial that the United States reinforce its relationships with its European allies, especially Russia said Philip H. Gordon, assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. Gordon’s remarks came during testimony he issues in front of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Gordon argued that the United States should put its past difficulties with Russia “behind us to the extent possible.” However, in a reference to last July’s conflict between Georgia and Russia, Gordon said that the U.S. “will not abandon our principles or ignore concerns about democracy and human rights…We don’t recognize any privilege sphere of influence for Russia in Europe [and] we will also continue to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia’s neighbors.”

“The U.S. and Russia can still work together where our interests coincide while seeking to narrow our differences in an open and mutually respectful way.”

Said Gordon, “the greatest success we have in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, the less there is a need for a missile defense system in Europe. If that threat goes away, the need for the system also goes away,” adding that a nuclear North Korea and nuclear Iran also pose great threats to Russia’s security as well.

Four members of the French Parliament were present in the audience during the hearing.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi explains how the alleged nuclear and missile tests conducted by North Korea has reinforced Sino-American cooperation against nuclear proliferation. Pelosi adds that China acknowledges North Korea as a threat to North East Asia. (0:40)

 

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