Talent, McCaskill differ on what to do about N. Korea

JEFFERSON CITY — The foreign policy rift between Missouri’s Senate candidates widened Tuesday, as Republican Sen. Jim Talent and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill differed in their approach to North Korea after its first declared nuclear test.

Talent said the United States should prod China and Russia to take the lead in trying to pressure North Korea to back away from its nuclear program. The one thing the United States must not do is engage North Korea in one-on-one talks, he said.

McCaskill, however, said one-on-one talks with North Korea must not be ruled out and might even help prevent a nuclear crisis.

Talent and McCaskill have clashed throughout the campaign on foreign policy. Talent generally has characterized McCaskill as weak in the war against terrorism while McCaskill has portrayed Talent as a rubber stamp for what she describes as President Bush’s failed policies in Iraq.

North Korea’s announcement that it had conducted a nuclear test explosion Monday was denounced by both candidates, as it has been around the world.

Both McCaskill and Talent called for an internationally unified response.

The Bush administration reiterated Tuesday that it would not talk with the North Koreans one-on-one.

Supporting that approach, Talent said any one-on-one talks between the United States and North Korea would essentially grant a victory to the communist country’s leader, Kim Jong Il.

“The general approach needs to be not to reward the North Korean government and leader by giving him what he hopes to get out of this. He wants bilateral negotiations with the United States; he wants to be recognized as a player,” Talent said.

While insisting any negotiations also include U.S. allies, Talent said, “We need to send a message clearly to Russia and China that we view this guy as their creature, if you will, and we expect them to exercise responsibility and control him.”

McCaskill said six-party talks — including South Korea, Japan, China and Russia with the United States and North Korea — would be preferable.

But “the idea that direct talks somehow show weakness I think is not reasonable logic,” McCaskill said. “Nose-to-nose, very difficult conversations — that is not appeasement. That is trying to effectively express what must done in order for North Korea to rejoin the international community.”

In 1994, during President Clinton’s administration, North Korea agreed after direct talks with the United States to halt nuclear development in exchange for promises of energy aid and diplomatic recognition.

But just after the agreement, control of Congress shifted to Republicans, many of whom felt the Clinton administration agreement was appeasing a dictator who could not be trusted.

The Bush administration has asked the United Nations Security Council to impose a partial trade embargo on North Korea, including strict limits on its weapons exports and freezing of related financial assets. All imports would be inspected, too, to filter out materials that could be made into nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

China agreed Tuesday that North Korea should be punished for its nuclear test but said it envisioned a more limited package of sanctions. China and Russia object to plans to interdict shipments and block financial transactions.