Before he could head to France to urge NATO allies to increase their commitment to Afghanistan, President Barack Obama first had to handle the looming threat of a North Korean missile launch.
With the regime in Pyongyang threatening a “thunderbolt of revenge” on any country that shoots down its missile, Obama on Thursday reiterated his commitment to disarm the country’s nuclear weapons program. Friday, Obama will be in Strasbourg, France, for a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
He is expected to make his case for much greater commitments from the defense pact for his expanding mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But before he could deal with his long-term military goals, though, Obama had to address a developing crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
In a meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on the margins of the Group of 20 economic summit, Obama agreed to a unified protest at the United Nations Security Council if North Korea proceeds.
South Korea “is one of America’s closest allies and greatest friends,” Obama said. “We also have a great range of issues to discuss — on defense, on peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.” North Korea has said it plans to launch a communications satellite shortly, and warned that any country that disrupts it will face retribution. So far, Japan has said it will attack any North Korean launch that enters its airspace.
Obama administration officials said they believe the launch will proceed, but expressed a reluctance to intervene with a missile interception of their own — echoing statements made last month by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
The White House said that in private talks, Obama told his South Korean counterpart that he would not let North Korean leader Kim Jong Il drive a wedge into their relationship. A day earlier, Obama told Chinese President Hu Jintao that the United States would protest at the U.N. Security Council a missile launch by North Korea.
China, North Korea’s principal ally, has shown a strong disinclination to condemn the move. China and Russia are among the countries working in the so-called “six party talks” aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear arms program.
Back in Washington, the State Department issued a blunt statement telling North Korea not to fire its missile.
The Security Council has banned North Korea from working on missile technology after that country in 2006 fired a long-range missile and later exploded a nuclear device.
