US, North Korean relations now "dangerous mess", says former top diplomat Madeline Albright

Agence France-Presse | August 4, 2003

[HAL9000]

WASHINGTON (AFP) Aug 04, 2003 - Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright chides the Bush administration in a new book for wasting a "diplomatic opening" with North Korea left by her ex-boss Bill Clinton, branding a current nuclear crisis "a dangerous mess."

Albright argues a "serious" North Korea policy would feature a willingness to talk one-on-one with the Stalinist state -- a step the current White House has fiercely opposed.

In excerpts from the book "Madam Secretary," to be carried in the September issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Albright also relates the inside story of her eye-popping visit to Pyongyang in October 2000 which stirred outrage from conservative critics.

Albright says that when she left office in January 2001, she was given the impression by Secretary of State Colin Powell that the new foreign policy team would explore what she said was a "diplomatic opening" her team crafted with Pyongyang.

"As he and the world learned, this wasn't to be the case," Albright writes, referring to the struggle for the soul of Korea policy which raged early in the Bush presidency.

Albright also holds forth on the train of events unleashed while the administration reviewed US policy towards Pyongyang, and the subsequent discovery of a banned North Korean nuclear weapons programs.

She says events have now turned full circle to duplicate a situation faced by Clinton in 1994, as North Korea is armed with nuclear bombs, searching for customers willing to pay for fissile material or weapons -- "all in all, a dangerous mess and a wholly unacceptable status quo."

North Korea last week agreed to join a six-nation dialogue on the crisis, but Bush has refused to contemplate the bilateral approach Albright advocates.

The Clinton administration fell short of concluding a deal with the Stalinist state on halting its missile sales, which was to have been clinched by a proposed trip to North Korea by the former president in the dying days of his mandate.

But Albright reveals in the book due out in September, that Clinton ran out of time to make the trip -- and instead chose to devote the final days of his time in the White House to a desperate bid to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Day by day, week by week, the White House delayed making a final decision because of the scheduling chaos created by crisis-driven negotiations on the Middle East," she writes.

In a final bid to forge a deal, the administration made the unusual step of inviting Kim to Washington -- but he refused to come, Albright wrote.

In the chapter on North Korea, entitled "At the door to the Hermit Kingdom" Albright also describes her meeting with reclusive Stalinist leader Kim Jong Il.

Kim "had a round face, wore large eyeglasses, and sported amazing puffed-up hair," and delighted at serving French wine at dinner, she writes.

Albright also relates the trip to a communist party pageant sprung upon her by Kim at which she saw around 100,000 performers perform synchronised dances in a chillingly nationalistic demonstration of the power of totalitarian rule.

She describes the exhibition at a stadium, which later exposed her to severe criticism from conservative critics back home, as "an Olympics opening ceremony on steroids."

[babyface00]

Well, if Madeleine Albright says so, that's good enough for me.

(this is intended as sarcasm)

[Semper Paratus]

I nominate her to be a 'human shield' at Yongban.

[jriemer]

Madeleine Albright: I'm still trying to screw up NK worse than Jimmy Carter but it's really difficult.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Yes, it is a dangerous mess. Thank you, Madam Secretary. This is your gift to the world.

Perhaps we should require Secretaries of State to be US citizens as well?

[austinTparty]

Barf alert?

[Lunatic Fringe]

Perhaps we should require Secretaries of State to be US citizens as well?

Naturally born citizens, that is....

[Southack]

Albright can do 24/7 spin control from now until she passes from this Earth, but it won't change the facts that she bears part of Clinton's responsibility for enabling Kim Jong Ill, as well as that she is responsible for fabricating reasons to wage war on a European nation (i.e. ain't no mass graves of 100,000 Kosovars, Maddie).

[Brilliant]

It's a patent lie. The Bush Admin. has had face to face talks with N. Korea. They walked out of them. They also recently refused to meet with the US rep, calling him "human scum." I wonder what the N. Koreans have to do before Albright finally figures out that it's their fault, not Bush's.

[Let's Roll]

AND she said it to the French Press - must be gospel.

[mhking]

Who cares what Albright says?

[cweese]

"Albright also relates the trip to a communist party pageant sprung upon her by Kim at which she saw around 100,000 performers perform synchronised dances in a chillingly nationalistic demonstration of the power of totalitarian rule."

...sure, and i wonder to this day, what was the fate of those who fell out of synchronization during the performance?...

[DittoJed2]

North Korea is run by an insane person. The situation has always been dangerous. Until he is out of there and the N.K.s stop the idiocy, then the situation is always going to be "unacceptable status quo." I say, lets pull our troops out of the meely-mouthed European countries like Germany and redeploy them in South Korea with Nuclear warheads. Tell the N. Koreans, rid yourself of this whacko vermin or we will and a few of his little friends with him. Having the world held hostage by a madman is what is unacceptable.

[sfvgt]

........so she's siding with that north korean nut over President Bush? I liked her better when she was a cleaning lady........

[Trueblackman]

Hey halfbright we don't engage in bootlicking.

[Shermy]

She forgot to mention that NK unilaterally reneged on the "treaties" and "openings" she capitulated to.

Imagine that.

[thinktwice]

The Democrats love dictators that enslave their own people, and the George W. Bush policy is correct -- Dictatorial regimes that enslave their own people have no right to exist.

[Russell Scott]

She's still upset that her other best friend, Saddam, has been relegated the same powerless, fleeing rat status, as her party has under the Clintons.

[Akira]

...Clinton ran out of time to make the trip -- and instead chose to devote the final days of his time in the White House to a desperate bid to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

How, by having Arafat over for a few more cocktail parties? What an absolute joke she (and he) is.

[af_vet_rr]

Yes, it is a dangerous mess. Thank you, Madam Secretary. This is your gift to the world.

Her second gift to the world after that is stating the obvious. Telling us what most of us already know does nothing (well it helps her to pimp her book).