PRESSURE ON NORTH KOREA

S. KOREA, US AND CHINA COORDINATING PRESSURE ON N. KOREA

Recent diplomatic activity shows three countries working together to address N. Korea nuclear issue

Kim Kyu-won and Gil Yun-hyung, staff reporters and Seong Yeon-cheol, Beijing correspondent

The Hankyoreh, May 9, 2013

Seoul, Washington, and Beijing are working together on an all-out pressure offensive against Pyongyang.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and US President Barack Obama formally stated at their May 7 summit that North Korea would have to make changes before any dialogue could take place. Prior to the meeting, the Bank of China blocked accounts with North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB).

The question now is how North Korea will react to the pressure.

Park and Obama made it clear at their summit that North Korea would have to make changes first if it wants dialogue.

Obama said at a press conference that the two countries were “prepared to engage with North Korea diplomatically and, over time, build trust.”

But he also stressed, “the days when North Korea could create a crisis and elicit concessions . . . are over.”

The remarks sent a strong message to Pyongyang that it is on the wrong path and needs to get back on the right track. They also surprised some observers who were expecting a surprise dialogue offer to North Korea to emerge from the summit in response to the recent tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Similar behavior was seen from Beijing. On May 7, just before the South Korea-US summit, the Bank of China gave notice to FTB that it was closing its accounts and halting all financial transactions. The Bank of China is the country’s largest foreign exchange bank, while FTB handles North Korea’s overseas financial operations.

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