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Clinton warns NKorea on missile launch

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-17 16:56

TOKYO – US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday warned North Korea against following through on a threatened missile launch, saying it would damage its prospects for improved relations with the United States and the world.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) shakes hands with Japan's Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, at the start of their talks at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo February 17, 2009. [Agencies]

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In Tokyo on her first trip abroad as America's top diplomat, Clinton also stressed US commitment to Japan's security, signed a military deal to advance that and underscored the importance of the alliance by inviting Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso to Washington next week.

Aso, deeply unpopular at home, will be the first foreign leader to visit President Barack Obama at the White House, and the Feb. 24 summit is a sign that the world's two largest economies know they have a special responsibility to deal the global financial crisis, Clinton said.

She had hoped to broaden US-Asian relations to include climate change, clean energy and the world's economic woes on her maiden overseas voyage, but North Korea and its increasingly belligerent rhetoric toward its neighbors were clearly at the top of her agenda.

Just before she arrived in Japan on Monday, North Korea claimed it has the right to "space development" - a term it has used in the past to disguise a long-range missile test as a satellite launch.

A day later, Clinton, without prompting, told reporters at a joint news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone that such a move would jeopardize the Obama administration's willingness to work for better ties with Pyongyang.

"The possible missile launch that North Korea is talking about would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward," she said, adding that if Pyongyang wants to end its isolation it also has to fulfill unmet denuclearization pledges made during the Bush administration.

"The decision as to whether North Korea will cooperate in the six-party talks, end provocative language and actions is up to them and we are watching very closely," Clinton said, referring to the six-nation talks aimed at getting North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons.

"If North Korea abides by the obligations it has already entered into and verifiably and completely eliminates its nuclear program, then there will be a reciprocal response certainly from the United States," she said. "It is truly up to the North Koreans."

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