The controversy over North Korea's counterfeiting activities and the conflict surrounding the United States' financial sanctions towards the North show no signs of being resolved. Subsequently it is no longer clear when the second phase of the fifth round of six party talks that in November were supposed start "at the earliest date possible" will take place, and so the nations that are party to the process need to work especially hard to see that the talks continue.
Speaking about North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "Their illegal activities have drawn sanctions from us because the president [George W. Bush] is not going to let North Korea counterfeit American money without action." In other words, she has let it be known that the financial sanctions were a decision made at the highest level and that the U.S. will not negotiate about them. That approach is unfortunate for extremely reducing the possibility for dialogue. Rice separated the counterfeiting issue and the six party talks, but this will inevitably be a negative influence when it comes to finding a date to continue the talks.
Maybe the U.S. is going to say that it has ample evidence that North Korea is producing and circulating counterfeit dollars. But the North and other related countries are all still unsure. There is no reason to avoid negotiations, dialogue, or other contact with the North if the U.S. has irrefutable evidence. Indeed, showing a North Korean delegation the evidence for them to see with their own eyes could be the shortcut to getting the issue resolved. Neglecting dialogue while going on one-sidedly justifying the sanctions like the U.S. is doing right now will only exacerbate the conflict.
There is ministerial-level "strategic dialogue" between the U.S. and South Korea scheduled for the middle of this month. Soon after, officials from the U.S. Treasury Department who deal with financial crimes are scheduled to arrive in Korea. We hope to see the two nations determine a reasonable response to the counterfeiting issue. If there is positive evidence the solution should be sought in dialogue between the U.S. and the North, and if not, removing the sanctions would be the solution. It would be bad for progress in the six party talks to have the charges about counterfeiting repeated in U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union address scheduled for later this month.
The Hankyoreh, 7 January 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Why Not Talk to North About Counterfeiting? |
