US urges North Korea to 'follow the path of peace'

Hillary Clinton issues carefully crafted message over death of Kim Jong-il as South Korea finally sends its condolences

guardian.co.uk, Tania Branigan in Beijing and Justin McCurry in Tokyo, Tuesday 20 December 2011 

The US wants to see a "peaceful and stable transition" in North Korea, Hillary Clinton has said, as Pyongyang settled into an 11-day period of mourning for Kim Jong-il.

Seoul finally sent its condolences to its neighbour after more than 24 hours of pondering its response, but the measured tone of official comments suggested it had little interest in using Kim's death to thaw frosty relations on the peninsula.

Anxiety about potential instability following the 69-year-old's death endured at home and abroad on Tuesday. The propaganda campaign promoting Kim's son and "great successor" – thought to be just 28 – stepped up a gear, with state media hailing Kim Jong-un as "the eternally immovable mental mainstay of the Korean people".

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with Japan's foreign minister, Koichiro Gemba, the US secretary of state told reporters: "We both share a common interest in a peaceful and stable transition in North Korea as well as ensuring regional peace and stability."

In a formal statement issued later, Clinton noted: "We are deeply concerned with the wellbeing of the North Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with them during these difficult times. It is our hope that the new leadership will choose to guide their nation on to the path of peace by honouring North Korea's commitments, improving relations with its neighbours, and respecting the rights of its people.

"The United States stands ready to help the North Korean people and urges the new leadership to work with the international community to usher in a new era of peace, prosperity and lasting security on the Korean peninsula."

John Delury, a professor at Yonsei University, said: "In both her statements there are some direct messages, definitely, for whoever is calling the shots in Pyongyang. Referring to Kim Jong-il by his full title [of National Defence Commission chairman]; talking about national mourning … these are carefully crafted to send really non-threatening messages.

"One line, emphasising peaceful and stable transition, could sound like China wrote it."

But Dr Leonid Petrov, of the University of Sydney, said the US was unlikely to go far enough to make significant progress in discussions.

"If Hillary Clinton is prepared to restart the relationship and forget about the animosity and propose a peace agreement and roadmap for security and trade, I am pretty sure North Korea will be very co-operative," he said.

"But I'm afraid the expectations are of one-sided disarmament, democratisation and openness – without much commitment from the US to changing its unequivocal position of trade sanctions, no security assurance and no diplomatic recognition, so that regime change could happen at any time. That is what North Korea fears most."

The US had been gently attempting to improve relations with North Korea. But the prospects of fresh nuclear talks and food aid have been shelved for now as leaders assess the implications of Kim's death.

The US president, Barack Obama, has spoken to the Japanese prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, and the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak. The administration has also contacted officials in China and Russia, the White House said.

Almost a day after the announcement of Kim's death, Seoul issued condolences to the North Korean people, with the unification minister, Yu Woo-ik, adding that it hoped the North would co-operate for peace and prosperity on the peninsula.

He told reporters that no official delegation would travel to Pyongyang to pay respects, but said the government would allow visits by relatives of the former president Kim Dae-jung, who held a landmark summit with Kim Jong-il in 2000, and the former Hyundai Asan chairman Chung Mong-hun, who had business ties with the North.

North Korea has already said it will not receive foreign delegations during the mourning period. It is not clear whether its stance might shift.

Yu added that his government was refraining from moves that might exasperate Pyongyang and said he would ask Christian groups to refrain from lighting giant steel Christmas trees near the border with North Korea.

The tepid tone of the message offered little hope to those who had thought Seoul might seek to use the occasion to reset relations.

"That is what they are trying not to do," said Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, the north-east Asia project director for the International Crisis Group.

"If they go, the US could go and they would be opening it up and that would be a change of policy. That is simply not this government's policy; why would they push it?"

Relations on the peninsula deteriorated rapidly after Lee reversed the "sunshine policy" of his predecessors.

"There is no point sending anybody to North Korea considering the damage that Kim Jong-il had done to South Korea and its people," said Prof Han Seung-joo, a former foreign minister.

"The new leader – or leadership – needs time to establish itself so I don't think we can expect a breakthrough any time in relations between North and South Korea or on the nuclear issue."

China and Russia had earlier sent condolences to the North and the president, Hu Jintao, visited the North Korean embassy in Beijing in an extremely rare gesture of respect.

Liu Weimin, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, said China would welcome a visit from the North Korean leader at a convenient time to both sides.

In Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said Noda has ordered government officials to improve measures to collect information on the North's moves, sharing it with the US, the South and China, and to be fully prepared for unpredictable circumstances.

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"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“…..   Here is the prediction: China will turn North Korea loose soon. The alliance will dissolve, or become stale. There will be political upheaval in China. Not a coup and not a revolution. Within the inner circles of that which you call Chinese politics, there will be a re-evaluation of goals and monetary policy. Eventually, you will see a break with North Korea, allowing still another dictator to fall and unification to occur with the south. ….”