Published Date:
17 June 2009
By Doug Palmer in Washington
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak yesterday forged a united front against North Korea, saying the hermit nation must abandon its nuclear weapons programme and will not be rewarded for provoking a crisis.
"There's been a pattern in the past where North Korea behaves in a belligerent fashion and if it waits long enough is then rewarded with fuel and concessionary loans and a whole range of benefits," Mr Obama said.
"The message we're sending ... is we are going to break that pattern," Mr Obama told reporters.
Mr Lee underlined that point, saying the UN Security Council's vote last week to expand sanctions on North Korea showed the global community's resolve.
"The North Koreans will come to understand that this is different, that they will not be able to repeat the past or their past tactics and strategies," Mr Lee said.
The South Korean leader has followed a tough line on North Korea, even before Pyongyang raised tensions in recent weeks by test-firing missiles, restarting a plant to produce arms-grade plutonium and conducting a nuclear test on 25 May.
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Last Updated:
16 June 2009 10:46 PM
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Source:
The Scotsman
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Location:
Edinburgh
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Related Topics:
Barack Obama
