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WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham has expressed hopes for improved relations with North Korea in her first public comments on the death of its leader Kim Jong Il.
Clinton said the situation on the Korean Peninsula was "evolving." She was speaking Monday after meeting at the State Department with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister.
Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra tells Newsmax that North Korea will “continue to be belligerent” following the death of longtime leader Kim Jong Il.
And he warns that the new regime in the reclusive communist state may seek to send signals indicating that it remains “someone to be feared.”
“The first thing we have to recognize is that over the past 10 or 15 years how unpredictable North Korea is and how little our intelligence community is able to get information and actually be able to predict what may or may not happen,” he says.
He also tells Newsmax that pressure from the United States and its allies seeking to take advantage of the change in leadership would most likely serve only to strengthen the hardliners in the North Korean regime.
“This is not a great time to be negotiating with them to open up to the West,” according to Hoekstra.
Originally posted by detachedindividual
They're just repeating what they are expected to say. Clinton is not alone in that statement about hoping for change in NK, I think every government to comment on it other than Russia and China has included the statement about hoping for change.
What does anyone really expect them to say?
Originally posted by calnorak
LOL. No, I don't think it will change. The people would have to rise up and retake their liberties first.
Originally posted by Zanti Misfit
reply to post by seabag
The Next thing you know , we will hear reports out of Washington that North Korea is now Secretly Arming Iran will Nuclear Missles . We gotta Stop that , Right ! ..........What can we do ? Attack Iran ? .Hmm.......edit on 19-12-2011 by Zanti Misfit because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by strafgod
Im reading this though I fail to see any war drums a beating... seems like a typical response to me.
Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com
says he remains concerned about North Korea’s trafficking of nuclear materials, citing the reactor in Syria that was destroyed by the Israelis, which had North Korea’s “fingerprints all over it.”
North Korea could already be trafficking with other countries, including Iran, he adds.