South rejects North's urging

South Korea plans direct Cabinet-level talks with North Korea.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea rebuffed North Korea's overtures to jointly oppose the United States, telling the North today to stop saber-rattling and instead take a "forward-looking" step to ease the crisis over its nuclear programs.
South Korea Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun also said the North's leadership "should not attempt to test the limit of the patience of the international community."
Jeong, whose ministry handles inter-Korean affairs, said his government will use upcoming inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks to urge North Korea to stop efforts to restart its nuclear facilities.
The meetings, which are the highest channels of dialogue between the two sides, will provide the first opportunity for South Korea to directly raise the nuclear issue with the North.
"The nuclear issue is a matter that affects the destiny of our people," Jeong said. "Therefore, we should actively search for a solution that can make all parties -- South and North Korea and related countries -- the winner."
In early December, North Korea alarmed the world by deciding to reactivate its plutonium-based nuclear program. It since has removed monitoring seals and cameras from its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, expelled U.N. inspectors who visually monitored those facilities and signaled it may quit the global nuclear-arms control treaty.
Will war come?
The United States promises to seek to resolve the issue peacefully, but Pyongyang's communist leaders suspect Washington eventually will use military force.
North Korea's state media said the country would not bend to U.S. pressure.
"As [North Korea] has a strong army, it has a strong pluck. If the U.S. tries to settle the issue with [North Korea] by force, [North Korea] has no idea of avoiding it," said the North's government newspaper, Minju Joson, in a report carried on the North's foreign news outlet, Korean Central News Agency.
The North, sensing opportunity in widespread anti-American sentiment in South Korea, also urged the South on Wednesday to back its confrontation with the United States.
Economic plight
This emphasis on "cooperation" with South Korea comes at a time when Seoul is criticizing a possible U.S. plan to use economic sanctions to force North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear-weapons program.
North Korea's overtures also are driven by economic needs, experts said.
South Korea, under President Kim Dae-jung's "sunshine" policy of engaging the North, has launched a series of unfinished inter-Korean projects, including a cross-border rail link and tourist and industrial parks, that would bring the impoverished North badly needed investment.
North Korea, which can hardly feed its 22 million people without outside relief, risks losing key sources of aid with its actions in recent weeks.
Kim called for an active South Korean role in trying to resolve the dispute between the United States and North Korea.
"The two sides must resolve their dispute through dialogue and help North Korea become a responsible member of the international community," Kim was quoted as saying by his spokeswoman, Park Sun-sook. "As a party concerned, we must play a role in this process."
Diplomatic efforts
The nuclear tensions have prompted a flurry of diplomacy involving South Korea and regional powers, including the United States, Japan, China and Russia:
UAssistant Foreign Minister Lee Tae-shik of South Korea began a two-day visit to China today, meeting with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China is the only major ideological ally of North Korea and supports a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. The two officials agreed that their countries would work together to resolve the issue peacefully, a senior official of the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.
UDeputy Foreign Minister Kim Hang-kyung of South Korea will fly to Moscow this weekend to meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov. Russia has warned North Korea not to back out of its international treaty obligations.
UThe Vienna-based U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency plans to hold an emergency board meeting Monday. Seoul's Yonhap news agency, quoting South Korean officials, said the board would adopt a resolution "deploring" North Korea's actions but would not refer the case to the U.N. Security Council.
UThe United States, Japan and South Korea will hold Trilateral Coordination Oversight Group meetings in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss North Korea. The topics will include whether to continue a $4.6 billion project to build two Western-developed light-water reactors in North Korea. That project was meant to reward North Korea for promising to freeze and eventually dismantle its suspected nuclear-weapons program under a 1994 deal with Washington.
UImmediately after the trilateral talks, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly will visit Seoul to meet South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun. A visit to Washington by Roh's special envoy will follow. In late December, Roh and President Bush agreed to exchange special envoys to coordinate policy on North Korea.
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