A polite but firm rebuff for Rice

Oct 21, 2006

A polite but firm rebuff for Rice
By Donald Kirk

SEOUL - The Condoleezza Rice road show was such an exercise in bluff and bluster that the only clear conclusion in its wake is that nothing she said had changed anyone's mind on what to do about North Korea's nuclear program.

Moving with the glittery aplomb of a queen between the Foreign Ministry and the Blue (Government) House, ambassadors and junior diplomats surrounding the US secretary of state vied with her Korean hosts for the distinction of which side was the more skilled in diplomatic double-talk.

The winner in a close race was affable, unflappable South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, whose favorite expression, a gentler version of the thinking of President Roh Moo-hyun, was that all contentious issues were "under review" - no doubt while "reviewing the situation".

That response seemed to cover just about everything South Korea might do to fulfill the UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, ranging from the dreaded Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) to the special economic and tourist zones across the line in North Korea. ......

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