Secretary Clinton Visits South Korea

Discusses "Uncertainty" Over Possible Successor To Kim Jong-Il, As North Korean Military Steps Up War Rhetoric

(CBS/AP)  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Seoul on Thursday, on the third leg of a week-long Asia tour.

Earlier, during the flight to South Korea from Indonesia, Clinton told reporters that North Korea's leadership situation was uncertain and that the United States was worried the Stalinist country may soon face a succession crisis to replace dictator Kim Jong Il.

Clinton said the Obama administration was deeply concerned that a potential change in Pyongyang's ruling structure could raise already heightened tensions between North Korea and its neighbors as potential successors to Kim jockey for position and power.

Her comments were a rare, if not unprecedented public acknowledgment from a senior U.S. official that the secretive nation may be preparing for a leadership change following reports that Kim suffered a stroke last year.

Clinton said the South Koreans are particularly worried "about what's up in North Korea, what the succession could be, what it means for them, and they are looking for us to use our best efforts to try to get the agenda of denuclearization and nonproliferation back in gear."

"Everybody is trying to sort of read the tea leaves as to what is happening and what is likely to occur, and there is a lot of guessing going on," Clinton said, referring to talks between Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and U.S. officials about the situation in the North.

"But there is also an increasing amount of pressure because if there is a succession, even if it's a peaceful succession, that creates more uncertainty and it may also encourage behaviors that are even more provocative as a way to consolidate power within the society," she said.

Clinton's remarks came as North Korea stepped up belligerent rhetoric towards the United States and South Korea amid signs the North is planning to test fire what intelligence analysts believe is a long-range missile.

Just hours before Clinton arrived in Seoul, the North Korean military stepped up its war rhetoric Thursday, issuing a statement in which it accused South Korean president Lee Myung-bak of misusing "nonexistent nuclear and missile threats" as a pretext to invade. It also warned it was prepared for an "all-out confrontation."

The strident statement carried on state-run media comes amid reports that the North is preparing to test-fire a long-range missile.

Visiting Tokyo earlier this week, Clinton warned Pyongyang against conducting the missile tests. "The possible missile launch that North Korea is talking about would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward," she said.

Analysts say North Korea is using the threats and missile test preparations to win President Obama's attention at a time when nuclear negotiations with the U.S., South Korea and three other nations stand at a deadlock and tensions with the South are at their highest level in a decade.

North Korea, however, said Monday it "has no need to draw anyone's attention" and has defended its right to use missiles as part of its space program.

Kim, 67, inherited leadership from his father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, in 1994, creating the world's first communist dynasty. He rules the nation of 23 million people with brutal authority, allowing no opposition or dissent.

His failure to show up last September for a military parade marking the country's 60th anniversary spurred questions about the health of a man believed to have diabetes, heart disease and other chronic ailments.

Citing intelligence, South Korean and U.S. officials later said Kim suffered a stroke and underwent brain surgery in August.

North Korean officials have steadfastly denied Kim was ever ill.

However, state-run media made no mention of Kim's public appearances for weeks last fall, feeding fears that his sudden death without naming a successor could spark a power vacuum, internal struggle in the nuclear-armed nation or send scores of hungry North Koreans fleeing to China.

Clinton, who will visit China over the weekend, said she would be seeking advice in Seoul and Beijing about how to resume stalled six-nation disarmament talks given questions about Kim's health and who is now or may soon be in charge in Pyongyang.

Clinton is to meet with Lee on Friday and said she would speak to him and others about how to defuse tensions between the two Koreas.

Relations between the two Koreas have been tense since Lee took office a year ago taking a harder line toward the North than his liberal predecessors.

The North's military, in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, called the Lee administration a "group of traitors" and warned it "should never forget that the (North) Korean People's Army is fully ready for an all-out confrontation."

The North's Radio Pyongyang said tensions are so high that armed skirmishes could break out near their disputed sea border at any time, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, which monitors the broadcasts from Seoul.

The South Korean military is prepared to repel any North Korean provocation, Gen. Kim Tae-young, chairman of the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly told lawmakers. Officials at the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the parliament could not immediately confirm the comment.

KCNA also cited joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises as proof Thursday that Washington and Seoul are preparing to attack the North. The report warned they would pay "a high price" for such a move.

The U.S. and South Korea insist the joint exercises are purely defensive.

The Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, urged the North to stop escalating tensions and agree to dialogue.

Dozens rallied outside the U.S. Embassy on Thursday to condemn the North for ratcheting up tensions ahead of Clinton's visit. Anti-Pyongyang protesters burned North Korean flags and photos of leader Kim Jong Il.

"We hope her visit will be a strong message against North Korea's military aggression," said organizer Park Chan-sung.

Clinton's visit comes amid reports that North Korea has moved a Taepodong-2 missile - believed capable of reaching Alaska - to a launch site on its northeast coast.

North Korea says it bears the right to "space development" - a term the regime used in 1998 before conducting a ballistic missile test Pyongyang claims was meant to put a satellite into orbit. The North, which claims to possess atomic bombs, carried out a nuclear test blast in 2006.

Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan warned that any such launch would invite U.N. sanctions because it would violate a 2006 resolution banning North Korea from pursuing missile or nuclear programs.

A missile launch "would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward," Clinton said Tuesday in Japan.

Clinton, seen at left departing Indonesia for Seoul on Thursday, has said the Obama administration backs the six-party negotiations to rid North Korea of its nuclear program. The disarmament process, which began in 2007, has been stalled for months.

In a promising sign, representatives from all six nations involved in the nuclear talks were to meet Thursday and Friday in Moscow to discuss promoting regional security. The meeting will be North Korea's first official with the parties since Obama's inauguration.

The halt in the disarmament process last year came amid mounting questions about North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's health. Analysts say Kim, believed to have suffered a stroke in August, wants to extract concessions from the Obama administration before handing over control of the regime to one of his sons.

Kim's youngest son, Kim Jong Un, has registered his candidacy for the March 8 parliamentary elections, Yonhap reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources in Beijing. Yonhap called the move a sign the son has been named Kim's successor.

Yonhap said last month that the son, believed to be in his 20s, was named Kim's heir apparent but the report could not be verified.

[miamiderick]

Hillary Clinton is obviously trying to destabilize the current government in North Korea with her catty remarks about the uncertainties and conflicts within North Korea. The problem is, she doesn%u2019t hold the moral high ground to talk down to anybody. The United States has taken unsavory positions attacking Lebanon and Gaza, killing thousands of innocents and invading countries like Iraq and Afghanistan in lust for oil, and is seen by the rest of the world as opportunists and adventurism. Her hollow remarks are put down to no more than a piece of trash exchanging back fence gossip about a neighbor that she dislikes. The world is well beyond that stage, and is expecting a more mature and dignified response from the United States. Maybe Barack Obama can use her to play the bad cop, and he will present a more acceptable and tasteful good cop.

[wiswolf2]

The North Koreans were those "peaceful people" who rescued our wayward ship, U.S.S. Pueblo in '68, right?

When will our government adopt a "trigger" philosophy concerning foreign policy? In other words...an "IF/THEN" posture. We've tried to deal with despots before and all they understand is complete defeat.

You "condemn", huh?? Who made you god, anyway??
Posted by hadenough43 at 05:39 PM : Feb 19, 2009

YOU. You told me to "figure it out."

You''re so lame.

Posted by rm090218
------------
So condemnation is your way of figuring it out.
Again, who made you god, anyway??

[barbaram99]

I can't get a car and drive..I am denied that.I am legally blind. Yes Amiericans love to fight. I am 54. The Koroan war never ended. That is a fact. I can say bout ww2. I was born in the 50s. I hate guns. I hate war.

You''''re the blame ''''n shame freak, here. You figure it out.
Posted by hadenough43 at 03:32 PM : Feb 19, 2009

I find no fault with this man Jesus. No fault at all.

But I condemn this man you call Slick Willy. I find much fault with him.

Posted by rm090218
----------
You "condemn", huh?? Who made you god, anyway??

[indivthinker]

War with North Korea is inevitable. Whether it happens this year or in 20 years, it will happen. North Korea will get manhandled again by the US dominated forces. This time, however, North Korea won't have China watching it back. China would never risk a full war with the US and its allies, which could potentially include Russia in this situation.

Those that would thrust themselves into the war (which never really ended because there was no peace treaty) would be North Korea on one side vs the United States, the EU, Japan, Taiwan South Korea and potentially the rest of the United Nations states that went to war with North Korea in the 50s.

The North would crumble in a war, which is why it has built the nukes. It wants to ensure that it can inflict as much damage on its enemies before it finally falls and is reunited with the South.

Do ya "blame" Clinton for jaysus''''s death, too??
Posted by hadenough43 at 02:47 PM : Feb 19, 2009

Was Clinton a Pharisee? Or a Sadducee?

Posted by rm090218
--------------------
You're the blame 'n shame freak, here. You figure it out.

Posted by rm090218
-------------
Do ya "blame" Clinton for jaysus's death, too??

[erasmus606]

Erin Go Braugh!!!

It's okay, Barbara, you are welcome here, in Canada.:)

[drputt45]

Hey Barb (BarbaraM99), is it OK if I call you Barb? Now, walk out the door, get in your car, drive north. Do not look back, do not turn around, just drive north. I hope you are very happy in your new home.