South Korea and the United States on Thursday downplayed North Korea's claim that it has unloaded 8,000 spent fuel rods from a nuclear reactor. They said the North seems to be trying for higher stakes in its standoff with the U.S. by further aggravating the situation.
``We regard the removal of the spent fuel rods as a step in line with North Korea's previous moves to strengthen its negotiation power by aggravating the situation,'' Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo said in a press briefing. ``But, it does not build up a crisis right away.''
He reiterated that the North should come back to the six-party talks, adding it should talk what it wants to say at the negotiation table instead of taking steps that would not be helpful for a resolution of the issue.
Washington also played down Pyongyang's ``provocative statements and actions'' and simply urged it to return to the negotiation table.
``The provocative statements and actions by North Korea only further isolate it from the international community,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
``All parties that are participants in the six-party talks are concerned about North Korea's behavior and that's why we want to get them back to the six-party talks. That's where our focus is, that's where our focus remains,'' McClellan said.
On Wednesday, North Korea announced that it has ``successfully completed'' the removal of 8,000 spent fuel rods from its 5-megawatt reactor in its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon, a move experts say would give the Stalinist state more plutonium to make bombs.
The South Korean government held an emergency meeting later in the day and expressed ``serious concern'' over the move, which it described as running squarely counter to the efforts to denuclearize the whole Korean Peninsula.
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The six-party nuclear talks, also involving China and Russia, have been stalled since last June, with Pyongyang insisting it won't return until Washington drops its ``hostile'' policy.
You know, I'm getting a little tired of this "not gong to take the DPRK seriously" bit. It's been going on for 50 years now. The US (and its allies) do not want to aknowledge the North so they simply dismiss it as "a nation of loonies". Well, that works to an extent in frustrating the Norks, it does little in regards to actually solving the problem.
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For a long time now the South has been making in-roads into diplomatic territory that was once exclusivly DPRK. Eastern Europe has all come over to "the bright side" and established friendly ties with the ROK. However, the old cold war buddies of the west have yet to embrace the DPRK, leaving it out in the cold and feeling rejected.
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That being said, I think simply the NORKS want to be part of a club... any club! If it's not the UN, or the "unalligned movement", then it might as well be the nuclear club. I honestly feel that by letting them stew, the US has led the DPRK into this direction.
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However, the South does not get off lightly either. The ROK, and its citizens, have grown "lovingly dismissive" of their northern brothers too. They look at the north now as "that poor uncle, who sits in the corner and occasionally shouts out crazy talk". They North may appear as part of the family to them, and the south may feel "defensive" about them, but in reality, they only pitty them instead of trying to get the old man some real help.
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The US needs to negotiate, if for no other reason than to give credence to a regime that's been in power for 50+ years. The South needs to take its head out of its arse and call a spade a spade. They need to get their crazy uncle in the north some serious counceling. The occasional bowl of rice set in front of him helps a little but saying "Uncle Kim, you really are mad and you need help" might just get the ball rolling. ;)
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