Chosun Shinbo - Ready to Deal with Obama

[Kim Jong-il is alive and kicking, having met his first

foreign envoy this week since reportedly suffering a

stroke at the end of last year. The photo above was

released by the regime Jan. 18.

 

 

Daily North Korea, South Korea

North Korea Expects Obama to Send Special Envoy

 

"U.S. President Obama and the Secretary of State Clinton feel no negativity about holding a direct dialogue with Chosun."

 

-- Chosun Shinbo, newspaper of the General Association of North Korean Residents in Japan, a mouthpiece of Pyongyang

 

By Yang Jung A

 

January 22, 2009

 

South Korea - The Daily North Korea - Original Article (English)

Kim Jong-il and Wang Jiarui (not pictured), head of China's International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, toast at a meeting in Pyongyang, Jan. 23. It was Kim's first meeting with a foreign envoy since suffering a stroke last year.

 

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Spurred by the inauguration of Barack Obama, the Chosun Shinbo, a publication of the General Association of North Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), claimed in a commentary published on January 20 that, “While preparing to cope with any acts taken by the enemy state [the U.S.], we are watching the launching of the new administration closely." [the Obama Administration].

 

The Chosun Sinbo commentary, entitled “Obama Administration's Task of Denuclearization,” says: “It remains unclear whether the Obama Administration approves of Chosun [North Korea] as a nuclear state, wants to maintain the status quo, or wishes to try and achieve denuclearization through a normalization of relations.”

 

The commentary again emphasized what the North Korean Foreign Ministry stated before the Obama inauguration: "The U.S. must accept North Korea as a nuclear state and address the North Korean nuclear issue within the context of bilateral disarmament talks after normalizing relations." At the same time, the commentary made clear that Pyongyang will not refuse a dialogue with the Obama Administration, and that it isn't necessarily vetoing the process of verification.

 

The Chosun Shinbo explained, “The obvious cause of the nuclear problem is the hostile relationship between the United States and North Korea. That is why Pyongyang has repeated that a normalization of relations is the way to solve the problem.” The commentary added, “The U.S. must accept that completing the process of verification will be the last phase of denuclearization, according to the principle "action for action.”

 

“If this principle is followed, North Korea will accept talks on the process of verification. The issue here is when the verification process will be discussed and the conditions that will exist for its implementation, all of which will occur at the last stage of denuclearization. … The logical course of action would be to discuss the verification process within the context of the complete denuclearization the Chosun [Korean] Peninsula.”

 

The Chosun Shinbo also implied that North Korean authorities expect the United States to dispatch a special envoy, saying that, “U.S. President Obama and the Secretary of State Clinton feel no negativity about holding a direct dialogue with Chosun.”

 

The newspaper also published news of Kim Jong-il's condition.

 

“The highest leader of Chosun [Kim Jong-il] appealed to the people to open the door to a 'strong and prosperous state,' and is energetically carrying out across-the-board onsite-inspections of industry.”