Hillary Clinton Has Message for North Korea

Here is what Hillary Clinton had to say recently about North Korea before heading off on her Asia trip this weekend:



North Korea’s nuclear program is “the most acute challenge to stability in northeast Asia,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday.

But, Clinton said in a 45-minute address to the New York-based Asia Society, the Obama administration is prepared to seek a permanent, stable peace with Pyongyang as long as its government pursues disarmament and does not engage in aggression against neighboring South Korea.

“If North Korea is genuinely prepared to completely and verifiably eliminate their nuclear weapons program, the Obama administration will be willing to normalize bilateral relations, replace the peninsula’s long-standing armistice agreements with a permanent peace treaty and assist in meeting the energy and other economic needs of the North Korean people,” she said.

The United States wants to move forward with the six-party talks, working with China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and North Korea to address North Korea’s nuclear program, she said. However, keeping in line with the Obama administration’s approach of “engaging” its enemies, Clinton said the United States would consider bilateral contacts with Pyongyang. [CNN]

So in other words they are continuing the Bush administration policy with North Korea. So there is absolutely nothing new in that regards.

However, judging by who the Obama administration is looking to make their special envoy to North Korea I fully expect different results. As bad as the Bush administration’s policy with North Korea was at least they didn’t give the North Koreans absolutely everything they wanted with little to nothing in return.

I think it is a distinct possibility that during the Obama administration you will see a peace treaty signed and massive aid given to the North Koreans as Clinton just explained with little to nothing in return as well. However, don’t expect the North Koreans to disarm their nuclear weapons. They will do what they did to the Bush administration, make promises to disarm if the US acts first and after the US does something like remove them from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List, they then reneg on their promises. It works every time.

Also notice how Hillary Clinton mentioned nothing about North Korean human rights abuses?