Subject:[WFP] NKorea. US Working On Lifting Sanctions For N. Korea.
> 15 Jun 2000
>
> 1. US hails "new day of hope" in Korea. AFP. 15 Jun 2000
> 2. U.S. to lift some N. Korea sanctions possibly Mon. Kyodo News. 15
> Jun 2000
> 3. US Working On Lifting Sanctions For N. Korea. AP. 15 Jun 2000
> 4. US hails "new day of hope" in Korea. AP. 15 Jun 2000
> 5. U.S. mixes support with caution for Koreas. Reuters. 15 Jun 2000
> 6. US to give North Korea 50,000 tonnes of wheat through WFP. AFP. 15
> Jun 2000
>
> ********************************************
>
> 1. US hails "new day of hope" in Korea
>
> by Stephen Collinson
>
> WASHINGTON, June 15 (AFP) - The United States on Thursday hailed a "new
> day of hope" on the Korean peninsula, showering praise on South Korean
> President Kim Dae-Jung while noting the "statesmanship" of North
> Korea's
> Kim Jong-Il.
>
> As policymakers digested the results of the historic North-South
> summit,
> the government pledged a further 12 million dollars worth of food aid
> to
> North Korea, in a move it hopes will add to the new mood of hope in the
> region.
>
> Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the epochal meeting in
> Pyongyang as a "bold step" towards resolving half a century of
> conflict.
>
> "Today is a new day of hope for the future of the Korean peninsula,"
> she
> said in a statement.
>
> "I want to congratulate President Kim Dae-Jung on his extraordinary
> achievement and for his patient and wise efforts as he works to achieve
> our shared objectives of peace and stability."
>
> Albright also noted the role of North Korea's hitherto reclusive Kim
> Jong-Il, who leads a country suspected by Washington of exporting
> missile technology and supporting terrorism.
>
> "I also want to acknowledge the positive steps Kim Jong-Il is taking to
> move North Korea out of the isolation of the past toward an era of
> reconciliation with the south," Albright said.
>
> President Bill Clinton also lauded Kim Dae-Jung's "persistence and
> wisdom" in moving towards improving relations with the North.
>
> Expanding on the cautious welcome they gave to the summit in its
> immediate aftermath, other US officials said they hoped a long-term
> dialogue would emerge between the two sides and lead to a "fundamental
> reduction of tensions."
>
> "We're also pleased that North Korea's leader demonstrated practical
> statesmanship as he reached agreement with the South's president on a
> number of important steps," said State Department spokesman Richard
> Boucher.
>
> In its first reaction to the summit outcome on Wednesday, the United
> States said it saw no reason yet to downgrade its assessment of a
> missile threat from North Korea.
>
> The Clinton administration last September embarked on a process which
> will lead to an easing of some US sanctions on North Korea by the end
> of
> this month in an attempt to prod the Pyongyang government out of
> isolation.
>
> It is also poised to resume an often bruising set of talks with North
> Korean officials on nuclear proliferation and its missile program,
> which
> the US fears could eventually threaten its territory.
>
> The US Agriculture Department Thursday said it would donate another
> 50,000 tonnes of wheat worth more than 12 million dollars to the World
> Food Program's emergency relief effort in famine-hit North Korea.
>
> "The surplus US wheat will be used to help feed tens of thousands of
> undernourished children, new mothers and other people in need," said
> Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman in a statement.
>
> Boucher said the donation was not directly linked to the landmark
> summit
> but fitted in well with a new tone of optimism in the region.
>
> "I think we would hope that our willingness to take on the humanitarian
> needs that we see in North Korea would contribute also to a better
> atmosphere on the peninsula," he said.
>
> Earlier this year, the department donated 10,000 tonnes of wheat to
> North Korea through the World Food Programme, and under fiscal 1999
> food
> aid programs, the USD gave more than 550,000 tonnes of wheat, flour,
> corn and nonfat dry milk, the statement said.
>
> Pentagon officials meanwhile said it was too soon to say what would
> happen to US troops based in South Korea if the North and South
> reunite.
>
> The summit was high on promise but short on concrete steps to end a
> half
> century of hostility, said Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon.
>
> Questions about the impact of reconciliation on the 37,000 strong US
> garrison in South Korea were "somewhat premature," he said.
>
> The two Kims agreed in their two-day summit to exchange long-term
> prisoners and allow families split by 50 years of Cold War to be
> reunited.
>
> The South's government announced Thursday the two sides were studying
> new measures to prevent an accidental war, including setting up a
> military hotline.
>
> They would also work to halt their propaganda war and stop "acts of
> destruction and insurrection," a government task force said in a report
> on the summit.
>
> col/ch
>
> Copyright (c) 2000 Agence France-Presse
> Received by NewsEdge/LAN: 16/06/2000 03:05 gmt+1
> ____________________________________________
>
> 2. U.S. to lift some N. Korea sanctions possibly Mon.
>
> Japan Economic Newswire via Dow Jones
>
> WASHINGTON, June 15 --
>
> The United States will announce, possibly Monday, a plan to partially
> lift economic sanctions imposed on North Korea, a senior administration
> official said Thursday.
>
> The measure would provide further impetus for reducing tension between
> North and South Korea following Wednesday's signing of a historic
> inter-Korean accord, the official said.
>
> Earlier in the day, Washington released a plan to provide 50,000 tons
> of
> wheat to famine-stricken North Korea.
>
> "Given the severe food shortage that continues in North Korea, the
> United States is responding to the World Food Program's appeal for
> emergency humanitarian assistance," Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
> said in a statement.
>
> Meanwhile, President Bill Clinton issued a statement welcoming a
> wide-ranging agreement North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean
> President Kim Dae Jung signed during their summit in Pyongyang.
>
> The summit "marks an initial hopeful step toward peace and
> reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula," Clinton said.
>
> Last September Clinton announced plans to partially lift sanctions
> against Pyongyang in return for its commitment to suspend missile
> testing, but steps have yet to be implemented.
>
> The sanctions to be lifted under Monday's projected announcement are
> expected to include those covering exports and investment in
> nonmilitary
> areas and certain financial transactions.
>
> Also to be eased are remittances from U.S. nationals to North Koreans,
> the transport of approved cargo to and from North Korea by commercial
> U.S. ships and aircraft, and commercial flights between the two
> countries.
>
> The sanctions derive from the U.S. government's designation of North
> Korea as a state supporting terrorism. The U.S. imposed sanctions on
> North Korea shortly after the 1950-1953 Korean war.
>
> Copyright (c) 2000 Kyodo News International, Inc.
> Received by NewsEdge/LAN: 16/06/2000 01:58 gmt+1
> ____________________________________________
>
> 3. US Working On Lifting Sanctions For N. Korea
>
> Dow Jones International News Service via Dow Jones
> 15 Jun 2000
>
> WASHINGTON (AP)--The Clinton administration announced Thursday a
> 50,000-ton food donation for North Korea and also offered rare praise
> for North Korean President Kim Jong Il for his role in bringing about
> this week's historic summit with South Korea.
>
> State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the food donation was
> long planned and therefore should not be interpreted as a reward for
> the
> breakthroughs achieved at the summit.
>
> The food aid will be distributed by the U.N. World Food Program, which
> has monitors in North Korea to ensure that it is sent to the intended
> recipients.
>
> The new donation brings to 450,000 tons the combined U.S. donations
> over
> the past year through the WFP. An additional 100,000 tons was
> distributed through a private group.
>
> North Korea has been suffering acute food shortages over the years as a
> result of drought, flooding and mismanagement of the agricultural
> sector.
>
> The summit has changed perceptions here about Kim Jong Il who, since
> taking power in 1994, had acquired few admirers here because of his
> ruthless repression, attempts to intimidate neighbors and continuing
> embrace of policies that have contributed to a prolonged famine.
>
> Boucher, voicing the change in attitude, said the United States is
> "pleased that North Korea's leader demonstrated practical statesmanship
> as he reached agreement with the South's president on a number of
> important steps that we think do bode well for the future of the
> peninsula."
>
> In a separate statement, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said she
> wanted to "acknowledge the positive steps that Kim Jong Il is taking to
> move North Korea out of the isolation of the past, toward an era of
> reconciliation with the South."
>
> The two leaders agreed to work toward the eventual reunification of the
> peninsula and to promote reunification of divided families.
>
> At the White House, President Clinton welcomed the agreements reached
> on
> humanitarian and economic cooperation and for a future summit in Seoul.
> He said he hoped that both sides "will continue down this promising
> path."
>
> He said the summit "marks an initial, hopeful step toward peace and
> reconciliation."
>
> Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the senior Democrat on the Senate
> Foreign
> Relations Committee, said in a statement that he was encouraged by the
> latest developments. "We are beginning to see the rewards of patient
> diplomacy backed by strong deterrence," he said.
>
> Still, Biden added, "Obviously, much work needs to be done, especially
> in the security realm, where North Korea's irresponsible proliferation
> of ballistic missile technology poses a threat not only to South Korea
> but to others."
>
> For the United States, the next step in promoting improved relations
> with North Korea will be formal implementation of steps announced last
> September to ease sanctions against Pyongyang.
>
> Once the paperwork is completed, North Korea would be allowed to export
> raw materials and goods to the United States and would open air and
> shipping routes between the two countries. An announcement on these
> measures is expected shortly.
>
> Clinton's order would not affect a ban on exports of military and
> sensitive dual-use items or most types of federal assistance.
>
> (END) Dow Jones Newswires 15-06-00
>
> Copyright (c) 2000 Dow Jones and Company, Inc.
> Received by NewsEdge/LAN: 16/06/2000 01:08 gmt+1
> ____________________________________________
>
> 4. US hails "new day of hope" in Korea
>
> by Stephen Collinson
>
> WASHINGTON, June 15 (AFP) - The United States on Thursday hailed a "new
> day of hope" on the Korean peninsula, showering praise on South Korean
> President Kim Dae-Jung while noting the "statesmanship" of North
> Korea's
> Kim Jong-Il.
>
> As policymakers digested the results of the historic North-South
> summit,
> the government pledged a further 12 million dollars worth of food aid
> to
> North Korea, in a move it hopes will add to the new mood of hope in the
> region.
>
> Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the epochal meeting in
> Pyongyang as a "bold step" towards resolving half a century of
> conflict.
>
> "I want to congratulate President Kim Dae-Jung on his extraordinary
> achievement and for his patient and wise efforts as he works to achieve
> our shared objectives of peace and stability," she said in a statement.
>
> Albright also noted the role of North Korea's hitherto reclusive Kim
> Jong-Il, who leads a country suspected by Washington of exporting
> missile technology and supporting terrorism.
>
> "I also want to acknowledge the positive steps Kim Jong-Il is taking to
> move North Korea out of the isolation of the past toward an era of
> reconciliation with the south," Albright said.
>
> Expanding on the cautious welcome they gave to the summit in its
> immediate aftermath, US officials said they hoped a long-term dialogue
> would emerge between the two sides and lead to a "fundamental reduction
> of tensions."
>
> "We're also pleased that North Korea's leader demonstrated practical
> statesmanship as he reached agreement with the South's president on a
> number of important steps," said State Department spokesman Richard
> Boucher.
>
> In its first reaction to the summit outcome on Wednesday, the United
> States said it saw no reason yet to downgrade its assessment of a
> missile threat from North Korea.
>
> The Clinton administration last September embarked on a process which
> will lead to an easing of some US sanctions on North Korea by the end
> of
> this month in an attempt to prod the Pyongyang government out of
> isolation.
>
> It is also poised to resume an often bruising set of talks with North
> Korean officials on nuclear proliferation and its missile program,
> which
> the US fears could eventually threaten its territory.
>
> The US Agriculture Department Thursday said it would donate another
> 50,000 tonnes of wheat worth more than 12 million dollars to the World
> Food Program's emergency relief effort in famine-hit North Korea.
>
> "The surplus US wheat will be used to help feed tens of thousands of
> undernourished children, new mothers and other people in need," said
> Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman in a statement.
>
> Boucher said the donation was not directly linked to the landmark
> summit
> but fitted in well with a new tone of optimism in the region.
>
> "I think we would hope that our willingness to take on the humanitarian
> needs that we see in North Korea would contribute also to a better
> atmosphere on the peninsula," he said.
>
> Earlier this year, the USDA donated 10,000 tonnes of wheat to North
> Korea through the World Food Programme, and under fiscal 1999 food aid
> programs, the USD gave more than 550,000 tonnes of wheat, flour, corn
> and nonfat dry milk, the statement said.
>
> Pentagon officials meanwhile said it was too soon to say what would
> happen to US troops based in South Korea if the North and South
> reunite.
>
> The summit was high on promise but short on concrete steps to end a
> half
> century of hostility, said Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon.
>
> Questions about the impact of reconciliation on the 37,000 strong US
> garrison in South Korea were "somewhat premature," he said.
>
> The two Kims agreed in their two-day summit to exchange long-term
> prisoners and allow families split by 50 years of Cold War to be
> reunited.
>
> The South's government announced Thursday the two sides were studying
> new measures to prevent an accidental war, including setting up a
> military hotline.
>
> They would also work to halt their propaganda war and stop "acts of
> destruction and insurrection," a government task force said in a report
> on the summit.
>
> col/ch
>
> Copyright (c) 2000 Agence France-Presse
> Received by NewsEdge/LAN: 16/06/2000 00:09 gmt+1
> ____________________________________________
>
> 5. U.S. mixes support with caution for Koreas
>
> By Randall Mikkelsen
>
> WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) - The United States pledged support on
> Thursday for Korean peace efforts after this week's historic summit in
> Pyongyang and said North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was moving his
> country out of isolation.
>
> Nevertheless, officials emphasised that North Korea's missile threat
> had
> not eased and the summit had no impact on U.S. development of a
> national
> missile defence system aimed at protecting against nuclear, chemical or
> biological attacks from North Korea or other "rogue states."
>
> A Defence Department spokesman said South Korea had asked that U.S.
> troops remain in any reunified Korea as a stabilising force.
>
> Officials also said the Clinton administration as early as next week
> would formally ease 50-year-old economic sanctions on North Korea.
>
> "Today is a new day of hope for the future of the Korean peninsula. The
> historic summit between the leaders of South and North Korea represents
> a bold step toward resolving a half-century of conflict there," U.S.
> Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in a written statement.
>
> She saluted South Korean President Kim Dae-jung for an "extraordinary
> achievement" and said "I also want to acknowledge the positive steps
> Kim
> Jong-il is taking to move North Korea out of the isolation of the past
> toward an era of reconciliation with the South."
>
> Said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher: "We were impressed by
> the warm reception which Kim Jong-il gave to Kim Dae-jung ... . We're
> also pleased that North Korea's leader demonstrated practical
> statesmanship."
>
> CALL FOR "CONTROLLED EXUBERANCE"
>
> President Bill Clinton, referring to the South Korean leader, said in a
> release: "President Kim and I have consulted very closely on this
> issue,
> and I look forward to supporting his future initiatives toward lasting
> peace and full reconciliation."
>
> The two Korean leaders agreed on Wednesday during their first-ever
> summit to reduce tensions between their countries, separated since
> 1948,
> and to hold reunions of families torn apart when the Korean War broke
> out 50 years ago.
>
> "I think there's a lot of reason for exuberance right now about what's
> happening on the Korean peninsula, but I think it needs to be somewhat
> wary or controlled exuberance at this time," Defence Department
> spokesman Ken Bacon said.
>
> He said South Korea's President Kim had told the United States he
> wanted
> U.S. forces to remain in any reunified Korea.
>
> "He would like U.S. troops to remain in Korea because they're a
> stabilising force," Bacon said.
>
> NO LINK SAID TO SUMMIT
>
> The United States on Thursday donated 50,000 tons of U.S. wheat to the
> World Food Program's emergency feeding effort in famine-stricken North
> Korea, but a State department official said there was no direct
> connection between the donation and the summit.
>
> White House National Security Council Spokesman P.J. Crowley said the
> economic sanctions imposed at the outset of the Korean War would be
> lifted in the "coming days," but that the action was not directly
> related to the summit. Another official said the action could come
> early
> next week.
>
> The United States had promised to ease the sanctions last fall after
> North Korea imposed a moratorium on long-range missile testing.
>
> Crowley said the summit diminished neither the perceived missile threat
> posed by North Korea nor the U.S. development of a national missile
> defence system designed to protect against such threats.
>
> He said Clinton had been expecting a revised assessment of the threat
> to
> the United States as he nears a decision later this year on whether to
> deploy a system to shoot down missiles from rogue states or terrorists.
> North Korea has been cited as a prime example of the threat.
>
> "Fifty years of tension on the Korean peninsula doesn't evaporate based
> on one meeting," Crowley said.
>
> Said Bacon: "North Korea is not the only country we worry about. We
> worry about Iraq, we worry about Iran, and we worry about other
> countries that are working on long-range missiles, or that already have
> chemical and biological weapons and would like to have ways to deliver
> them with long-range missiles."
>
> The United States was studying the 1972 treaty banning missile defence
> systems to determine at what stage construction of the system would
> constitute a treaty violation, Crowley said.
>
> Washington is seeking to amend the treaty, but Russia is adamantly
> opposed to the U.S. system and to changing the treaty to allow it.
>
>
> Copyright (c) 2000 Reuters
> Received by NewsEdge/LAN: 15/06/2000 23:55 gmt+1
> ____________________________________________
>
> 6. US to give North Korea 50,000 tonnes of wheat through WFP
>
> WASHINGTON, June 15 (AFP) - The United States said Thursday it will
> donate a further 50,000 tonnes of wheat worth more than 12 million
> dollars to the World Food Programme's emergency relief effort in
> famine-hit North Korea.
>
> "Given the severe food shortages that continue in North Korea, the
> United States is responding to the World Food Program's latest appeal
> for emergency humanitarian assistance," Agriculture Secretary Dan
> Glickman said.
>
> "The surplus US wheat will be used to help feed tens of thousands of
> undernourished children, new mothers and other people in need," he said
> in a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) statement.
>
> State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the donation was not
> directly linked to the landmark summit between the leaders of North and
> South Korea this week but fitted in well with a new optimism in the
> region.
>
> "I think we would hope that our willingness to take on the humanitarian
> needs that we see in North Korea would contribute also to a better
> atmosphere on the peninsula," he said.
>
> Earlier this year, the USDA donated 10,000 tonnes of wheat to North
> Korea through the World Food Programme, and under fiscal 1999 food aid
> programs, the USD gave more than 550,000 tonnes of wheat, flour, corn
> and nonfat dry milk, the statement said.
>
> North Korea's agriculture has been devastated by years of floods and
> poor centralised management.
>
> High levels of malnutrition have resulted from food shortages,
> contaminated water supplies and sanitation problems but there are no
> credible figures for the number of people who have died in the crisis.
>
> The Rome-based WFP is the food aid organization of the United Nations.
>
> bur/col/ch
>
> Copyright (c) 2000 Agence France-Presse
> Received by NewsEdge/LAN: 15/06/2000 22:03 gmt+1