So Kim Jong-un’s food-grubbing agreement to offer nuclear concessions and pave the way for renewed six-party talks lasted a little more than two weeks. Good job, newbie.
North Korea announced that it planned a satellite launch between April 12-16 to mark 100 years since the birth of Kim Il-sung, founder of the communist wasteland.
Since the technology for launching missiles mirrors a satellite launch, the State Department isn’t fooled.
“North Korea’s announcement that it plans to conduct a missile launch in direct violation of its international obligations is highly provocative,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an early-morning statement. “UN Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874 clearly and unequivocally prohibit North Korea from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology. Such a missile launch would pose a threat to regional security and would also be inconsistent with North Korea’s recent undertaking to refrain from long-range missile launches.”
The bilateral “exploratory” talks between Washington and Pyongyang that yielded the agreement for 240,000 metric tons of food aid happened Feb. 23-24 in Beijing.
About a week ago, a flashing banner was added to the English-language website of the official Korean Central News Agency that reads, “Anyone hurting the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership will find no breathing spell in this land and sky.”
“We call on North Korea to adhere to its international obligations, including all relevant UN Security Council Resolutions,” Clinton said. “We are consulting closely with our international partners on next steps.”
After the original deal announcement, the Senate Republican Policy Committee compiled a concise timetable of broken promises from Pyongyang.
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