The Obama administration on Thursday said it does not believe that Iran can enrich uranium at the level it claims it can. White House officials say work is underway for stronger international sanctions against Iran.
Posts Tagged ‘international sanctions’
Gates hopes sanctions will avoid military action
February 9th, 2010 |
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U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he hopes strong international sanctions on Iran will forestall the need for a military strike. They are designed to end the country’s chances of developing a nuclear weapon, VOA reports.
N Korea accuses fishing boat crew
August 1st, 2009 |
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North Korea says it seized a South Korean fishing boat on Thursday because it "illegally intruded" deep into its territorial waters.
It said a "relevant institution was conducting a concrete investigation".
South Korea says the boat drifted 11km (7 miles) too far north because of a navigational error. It called for the quick release of the four-man crew.
The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between North and South Korea.
South Korean officials first reported the capture of the 29-tonne boat, the Yeonanho, in the Sea of Japan, known in Korea as the East Sea.
A South Korean defence ministry spokesman, Lee Bung-woo, said the crew, who were fishing for squid, had reported a malfunction with their satellite navigation system.
The South says it has received no response from North Korea to its request for the boat to be returned.
There are concerns that the tension between the two Koreas may hamper negotiations, following the North’s recent missile tests, and the South’s support for international sanctions.
A South Korean worker who was based at a joint industrial project has been held for almost four months by the North, accused of insulting its political system.
Two US journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were captured along North Korea’s border with China in March, are also still being held.
But similar incidents involving fishing vessels straying across the boundary have been successfully resolved in the past.
The two countries technically remain at war, as they signed a truce, not a peace treaty, at the end of their three-year conflict in 1953. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
US piles pressure on Burma regime
July 23rd, 2009 |
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US officials have had a rare meeting with representatives of Burma’s regime.
Unnamed officials told reporters that efforts to improve ties depended partly on the outcome of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial.
The US also pressed Burma to enforce a United Nations resolution imposing an arms embargo on North Korea.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been on the diplomatic offensive ahead of a regional meeting now under way in Thailand.
Earlier in her trip to Thailand, she issued warnings about how a nuclear North Korea was unacceptable to the United States, and expressed concerns about the possible transfer of nuclear technology from North Korea to Burma.
The wrong road
Mrs Clinton called for the release of Ms Suu Kyi from many years of detention.
"If she were released, that would open up opportunities… for my country to expand our relationship with Burma, including investments in Burma," Mrs Clinton said.
This point was reinforced in the face-to-face meeting between US and Burmese officials on Wednesday night, US officials said.
They said they had told Burma that "the outcome of the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi would affect our willingness and ability to take positive steps in our bilateral relationship".
Mrs Clinton was not present at the meeting with Burmese officials, and said she did not intend to appear at a possible meeting with North Korean officials either.
She told reporters that the US is convinced that Burma is taking the wrong road by associating with North Korea.
Mrs Clinton also told reporters that North Korea must completely and irreversibly end its nuclear weapons program or face further isolation and "the unrelenting pressure" of international sanctions.
She said there were more positive ways ahead if the North chooses, and she is expected to announce conditions in which the North will be welcomed back into international discussions later on Thursday.
Symbols matter
Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton signed a symbolically important treaty with members of Asean.
The Treaty of Amity and Co-operation binds the US more closely into the regional security architecture – something previous US administrations had fought shy of.
"I want to send a very clear message that the United States is back, that we are fully engaged and committed to our relationships in South East Asia," she said before the signing the treaty in the resort of Phuket.
Mrs Clinton’s predecessor Condoleezza Rice skipped two Asean forums, leading analysts to remark on how China was gaining friends and influencing people in the perceived US absence.
Mrs Clinton also said the Obama administration would soon appoint a permanent ambassador to Asean headquarters in Jakarta.
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.