DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTORS: China Warns Of Turmoil Over Iran, Mute On Sanctions

DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTORS: China Warns Of Turmoil Over Iran, Mute On Sanctions

*Iran moved nuclear material to bunker: U.N. watchdog

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / BEIJING, China - November 9, 2011: China warned on Wednesday against turmoil in the Middle East from action over Iran's nuclear program, but declined to comment on the possibility of new sanctions following a U.N. report that Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China was "studying" the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, and repeated a call to resolve the issue peacefully through talks.

"I wish to point out that China opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and disapproves of any Middle Eastern country developing nuclear weapons. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran bears the responsibilities of nuclear non-proliferation," he told a daily news briefing.

"The Iranian side should also demonstrate flexibility and sincerity, and engage in serious cooperation with the agency," Hong said, referring to the IAEA.

"I want to stress that avoiding fresh turmoil in the Middle Eastern security environment is important for both the region and for the international community."

Hong made no mention of sanctions, and indicated China was in no rush to take the matter back to the United Nations Security Council, saying only that all sides should do more to promote dialogue and cooperation.

"I've already pointed out that China has consistently advocating using dialogue and cooperation to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue," he said, when asked about the possibility of new unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Chinese policy-makers are caught between their demand for Iranian oil and worry that the United States and its allies will demand harsher sanctions against Iran, even risk military action, after the IAEA concluded Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

China has kept close ties with Iran but has also backed past U.N. Security Council resolutions criticizing Iran's position on nuclear issues and authorizing limited sanctions.

But China has repeatedly resisted Western proposals for sanctions that could seriously curtail its energy and economic ties with Iran. As one of the Security Council's five permanent members, China holds the power to veto any resolutions.

China has also denounced the United States and European Union for imposing their own separate sanctions on Iran, and said they should not take steps reaching beyond the U.N. resolutions.

"WHITE HOT"

A Chinese state newspaper said a standoff between Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear plans could erupt in military conflict.

"It is clear that contention between the various sides over the Iranian nuclear issue has reached white hot levels and could even be on the precipice of a showdown," the overseas edition of the People's Daily said in a front-page commentary.

If Iran refused to back down in the face of growing U.S. conviction that it was developing nuclear weapons, "the risks of war will grow," said the paper, noting reports that Israel could consider a military strike on Iranian nuclear sites.

The People's Daily is the top newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party and broadly reflects official thinking, as well as the anxieties weighing on Beijing after the latest U.N. nuclear agency report.

China's official Xinhua news agency also suggested that Beijing would respond warily to the report. The U.N. watchdog still "lacks a smoking gun," Xinhua said in a commentary.

"There are no witnesses or physical evidence to prove that Iran is making nuclear weapons," it said.

"In dealing with the Iran nuclear issue, it is extremely dangerous to rely on suspicions, and the destructive consequences of any armed action would endure for a long time."

China is likely to face difficult choices as it tries to keep steady ties with the United States, which is likely to introduce new unilateral sanctions on Iran. [ID:nN1E7A71OB]

"If these sanctions harm China's substantive interests, then China will have to respond in some way," said Li Hong, the secretary general of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, a government-controlled body.

"It would certainly have an impact on bilateral relations," Li said in an interview.

ONUS ON CHINA?

Iran is China's third-largest crude oil supplier, shipping 20.3 million tonnes in the first nine months of the year, up by almost a third on the same time last year, according to Chinese data. Overall trade between the two countries grew to $32.9 billion in value in the first nine months, up by 58 percent.

"The onus will really be on China, as the only country whose economic relations with Iran have grown," Suzanne Maloney an expert on Iran at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington, said in a telephone interview.

Over the past year or more, China has quietly stalled on oil and gas investments in Iran, seeking to ward off stricter unilateral sanctions from Washington while preserving a foothold in Iran. But that implicit deal will come under growing pressure, especially from Congress, said Maloney.

"They've had a compromise for the past 18 months of a go-slow in investment. But it's difficult to see how that bargain can hold in the wake of the latest revelations," said Maloney.

Citing what it called "credible" information from member states and elsewhere, the IAEA said Iran appeared to have carried out activities applicable to developing nuclear weapons, such as high explosives testing and developing a trigger that could be used for an atomic bomb.

This week and last, China urged Iran to show flexibility over its nuclear program and warned that the use of force to resolve the issue was the last thing the Middle East needed.

Li from the Chinese arms control association said Beijing was worried about the tension, but war remained a slim risk.

"Overall, I think the international conditions show governments couldn't stomach armed conflict over Iran," he said.

"The U.S. economy is in poor shape, and Europe has its debt crisis," he said. "Iran is not like Libya; it has the strength to counter attack."

(Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Reuters

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DTN News: Iran Says Planes Denied Fuel In Germany, UK, UAE

DTN News: Iran Says Planes Denied Fuel In Germany, UK, UAE

Source: DTN News / Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - July 6, 2010: An Iranian official said on Monday the country's aircraft had been denied fuel in Germany, Britain and the United Arab Emirates as a result of tighter US sanctions, but those countries did not confirm imposing any ban. Pressure is mounting on Iran over its nuclear programme and the United States has stepped up its push to isolate Tehran economically. On Thursday, President Barack Obama signed into law far-reaching sanctions that aim to squeeze the Islamic Republic's fuel imports and deepen its international isolation. "Since last week, our planes have been refused fuel at airports in Britain, Germany and UAE because of the sanctions imposed by America," Mehdi Aliyari, Secretary of the Iranian Airlines Union, told Iran's ISNA news agency. The claim could not be independently confirmed and was met by scepticism. None of the three countries has announced any such ban, although officials could not rule out private firms refusing to fuel Iranian planes because of US measures. A British government spokesman said it was unaware of any Iranian planes being denied fuel in Britain. The German transport ministry said there was no ban on refuelling Iranian aircraft, and an airport in the United Arab Emirates said it was honouring contracts to fill Iranian aircraft normally. Gala Riani at IHS Global Insight said any measure targeting the provision of fuel to Iranian flights would seem a "very strict reading" of the new US sanctions law. She said it would not necessarily be the kind of measures the legislation, which is more directed at trade in fuel, aimed to achieve. "I'd be cautious to jump to any conclusions," she said about the Iranian news agency report. A spokeswoman for Abu Dhabi Airports (ADAC) in the UAE capital said: "We have contracts with Iranian passenger flights and continue to allow refuelling." Fuel traders from three different international firms said they had heard of no ban on jet fuel sales to Iranian aircraft at UAE airports. Said one trader: "You can't allow a plane to land and then not let it buy fuel." Germany's Transport Ministry said the refuelling of Iranian planes was not banned under EU or UN sanctions, nor was any such ban foreseeable. "There is no ban," a spokesman for the ministry said, adding that he could not comment on whether any individual providers were refusing to fuel Iranian aircraft. Although the British authorities were not aware of any Iranian aircraft having been denied fuel, a government source said: "It is a commercial decision for companies to take how they respond to the US legislation." UAE TIGHTENS FINANCIAL RULES The claim followed steps by the UAE this month to tighten its crucial role as a trading and financial lifeline for Iran. The UAE Central Bank asked financial institutions to freeze the accounts of 40 entities and an individual blacklisted by the UN for assisting Iran's nuclear or missile programmes. The US action and other measures planned by the European Union go well beyond a fourth round of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran approved on June 9. Over the past weeks a number of countries and firms have cut back on their imports of Iranian crude oil. More companies have also stopped providing Iran with refined petroleum which Tehran needs to import to meet domestic demand. Iran is the world's fifth-largest oil producer, but imports various oil products for lack of sufficient refining capacity. The US measures, unlike the UN sanctions, target Iranian imports of refined products. A State Department press officer in Washington was able to comment on Monday, a US holiday, on whether the new US sanctions barred firms abroad from refuelling Iranian air craft. Western powers believe Iran is trying to build bombs under cover of a civilian nuclear programme. Tehran says the programme is only for electricity generation and medical purposes. Aliyari said that so far Iran Air, the national carrier, and Mahan Airlines had run into refuelling problems. "Refusing to provide fuel to Iranian passenger planes by these countries is a violation of international conventions," he added. An Iranian lawmaker said his country would retaliate against countries denying fuel to its planes: "Iran will do the same to ships and planes of those countries that cause problems for us," ISNA quoted Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh as saying.

DTN News: Canada To Use Its G8 Presidency To Press For Iran Sanctions: PM

DTN News: Canada To Use Its G8 Presidency To Press For Iran Sanctions: PM *Source: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) OTTAWA, Canada - February 11, 2010: Canada will use its G8 presidency to press the club of world's richest nations for more sanctions against Iran to try to curb its nuclear ambitions, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday. "Canada will use its G8 presidency to continue to focus international attention and action on the Iranian regime" and "work with its allies to find strong and viable solutions, including sanctions, to hold Iran to account," Harper said in a statement. "It is time for Iran to end its defiance of the international community, suspend its enrichment activity and take immediate steps toward transparency and compliance by halting the construction of new enrichment sites, and fully cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency," he said. Harper's announcement came as the US Treasury Department ordered a freeze on assets of an individual and four companies linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a "significant regime of sanctions" against Iran for seeking to further enrich nuclear materials in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions actions. In Moscow, the powerful head of Russia's national security council, Nikolai Patrushev, said Tehran's announcement that it had started work to produce 20 percent enriched uranium cast doubt on its claims not to be pursuing weapons. Patrushev indicated the Kremlin's patience in trying to seek dialogue with Tehran was wearing thin. Harper said his government is "deeply disturbed" by Iran's decision. "Iran's past history of deliberately concealing aspects of its nuclear program makes this latest move even more worrying," he added. Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, plus Russia, are to meet next in Toronto in June. Related Articles Why Iran unrest is not revolution re-run CNN - 1 day ago China urges agreement on Iran nuclear fuel proposal Washington Post - 1 day ago Confidential IAEA document suggest Iran-s higher enrichment operation modest ... Gaea Times (blog) - 2 hours ago

DTN News: Guinea's Military Junta Imports Arms Despite Embargo

DTN News: Guinea's Military Junta Imports Arms Despite Embargo • Sanctions were imposed after stadium massacre • President fearful of fresh coup, say military sources *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) CONAKRY, Guinea - November 4, 2009: Guinea's military junta has imported millions of dollars worth of weapons in recent weeks, despite international sanctions imposed on the country after members of the presidential guard massacred at least 160 people at an opposition rally in September. Light arms worth $45m (£27m) were flown into the country on 23 October in defiance of the embargo, according to local and diplomatic sources in the capital, Conakry. Soldiers on patrol in Conakry, where tensions remain high after at least 160 people were killed in September during a political rally. Sources suggest the weapons were bought in Ukraine by the defence minister, Sékouba Konaté, during a recent private visit, and their arrival was supervised by a specially hired group of South African security advisers. The South African newspaper Beeld alleges that as many as 50 mercenaries could be in Guinea working for the government and the president, Captain Moussa "Dadis" Camarra, who seized power after a coup last December. The atmosphere in Conakry is increasingly tense. Last week a city-wide strike was called. Most shops and banks closed to mark one month since the violent suppression of an anti-government rally at the national football stadium. Local human rights workers believe scores were killed when government soldiers, led by members of the presidential guard, opened fire on pro-democracy demonstrators at a stadium on 28 September. Dozens of women were raped in a co-ordinated attack by the military, which prompted international outrage. A series of sanctions followed, including a freeze on assets and travel bans against the leaders of the junta. Dadis disputes the number of dead, blaming rogue military elements for the violence, which he claims was provoked by the opposition. But he now appears to be an isolated figure, cancelling his weekly television appearances and refusing requests for media interviews. This may in part be due to a recent intimate profile by the French television channel France 24, in which Dadis was filmed in his pyjamas in the presidential bed. He shows the reporter his preferred bedtime reading, a book entitled The Power of Positive Thinking. French media have since been ejected from the country. Dadis is now rarely seen on the streets. Sources in the military say he is becoming fearful of a counter-coup from within his own military. He is not alone. The chief of presidential security, Claude Pivi, who is believed to have personally supervised the September attack, now drives through town escorted by no fewer than seven battle wagons with anti-aircraft guns strapped to the back. In the 50 years since it won independence from France, Guinea has never known a freely elected government. Analysts say the main fear of the junta is not unrest among the public, but a split within the military. To shore up support, Dadis has begun recruiting militia units from among his own Forestier ethnic group in the east of the country. He has promoted fellow Forestiers to senior positions in preference to those from other tribes. The international political pressure is also testing nerves. Dadis has pledged to allow a team of UN investigators into the country, saying those responsible for the September massacre will face punishment. Some officers are said to fear that they will be made scapegoats. "The army is deeply divided," said Corinne Dufka, of Human Rights Watch. "Members of other tribal groupings within the military feel marginalised and many soldiers have personally told me they are horrified by the massacre, which they say was the work of a small minority." Members of the opposition coalition meanwhile continue to face the threat of arrest and violent assault. While leaders of the Forces Vives have agreed to participate in West African-led negotiations with the military junta, many still operate either from abroad or in hiding. Britain, the US and France, as well as west African nations, are calling on Dadis to stand down. Presidential elections are due to be held in January. Dadis has so far refused to honour his pledge not to run. The fear is that further conflict in Guinea could again spill over into neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, which have only recently emerged from years of violent conflict. There are unconfirmed reports of former Liberian combatants joining Dadis's militias. Mouctar Diallo, one of the leading opposition leaders, called on the foreign powers to rescue the country from Dadis. "We are asking the international community to help us to dismantle his ethnic militias," he said. "The people of Guinea are in danger. We have the right and a duty to demand a humanitarian intervention."

DTN News: South Korea TODAY September 2, 2009 ~ North Korea, South Korea Normalize Cross-Border Traffic

DTN News: South Korea TODAY September 2, 2009 ~ North Korea, South Korea Normalize Cross-Border Traffic

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - September 2, 2009: South and North Korea have resumed traffic across their tense border to a jointly run industrial zone, renewing hopes for the project's viability.

South Korean cargo trucks heading to the inter-Korean industrial complex in Kaesong, North Korea, depart the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine office, just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, about 45 km (28 miles) north of Seoul, September 1, 2009. North Korea reopened its border with the South, ending a self-imposed 9-month blockade on a vital source of cash for its leaders as their ravaged economy is squeezed by tightening U.N. sanctions.

The move reflects a thaw in tensions after recent diplomatic moves between the two Koreas. South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said Tuesday that traffic across the North Korean border is set to resume at levels not seen for more than a year.

She says starting from Tuesday, up to 23 trips will be allowed back and forth across the North-South border to a joint industrial zone in the North Korean city of Kaesong.

Up to four trips a day will be permitted between South Korea and a joint resort zone at the North's Kumgang mountain.

Traffic to both zones nearly ground to a halt soon after the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak early last year. Mr. Lee ended the practice of his two predecessors of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and investment to the North, regardless of how it behaved. The Lee administration says economic help will be conditioned on the North's willingness to give up nuclear weapons.

However, the North has made diplomatic overtures to the South recently including a recent meeting between senior envoys and President Lee.

South Korean companies employ more than 30,000 low-wage North Korean workers in the Kaesong complex, producing goods like cosmetics and sportswear.

For those companies, the resumption of normal traffic is cause for celebration.

Park Young-man is the executive director of the Corporation of Kaesong Industrial Council.Park says the news made his fellow managers cheerful, and even boisterous.

He says this is the high season for manufacturing, and many clients have been phoning with positive expectations.

Yoo Chang-gun, vice-chairman of the Corporation of Kaesong Industrial Council, is approaching the news with caution.

Yoo says he thinks it will take considerable time to recover from the huge blow that the border closure has dealt to companies operating in Kaesong. He says even loyal clients had stopped ordering from his company because of the border uncertainty.

He hopes the South Korean government will get actively involved in assisting with a Kaesong zone recovery.Separately, North Korean media report a senior diplomatic team has gone to China.

Beijing hosts six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. Pyongyang abandoned those talks in April, shortly before it conducted its second nuclear weapons test.

DTN News: Bolivia Looks To China, Brazil To Buy Combat Aircraft

DTN News: Bolivia Looks To China, Brazil To Buy Combat Aircraft

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) LA PAZ, Bolivia - September 1, 2009: Bolivia is looking to buy six combat aircraft from China or Brazil after the U.S. blocked the sale of Czech planes, Defense Minister Walker San Miguel said in remarks published Monday. The L159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft (ALCA) was developed by Aero Vodochody to meet the Czech Air Force operational requirements for a light multi-role combat aircraft. The aircraft has been developed in the single-seat L159A and two-seat L159B versions. The Czech Air Force ordered 72 L159A aircraft and the first was delivered in April 2000. All 72 were delivered by the end of 2003. The L159B completed its first flight in June 2002 and the Czech Air Force has ordered two aircraft. Aero Vodochody was owned 50% by the Czech Government and 35% by the Boeing Company. However in October 2004, Boeing withdrew from the company. In November 2005, the Czech Government announced that the company was to be privatised and, in October 2006, was sold to Penta Investments AS. The L159 ALCA is based on the proven airframe design and aerodynamic configuration of the L39 Albatros and L59 family of basic and advanced jet trainers, and incorporates a high-performance military turbofan engine, advanced avionics and sensors. The operational capabilities of the aircraft include close air support, tactical reconnaissance, air defence, counter insurgency, border patrol, anti-ship missions, and lead-in fighter and weapons training. "They could be Chinese or they could be Super Tucanos from Brazil, one or the other," San Miguel was quoted as saying an in interview with the newspaper La Razon. He provided few details on the status of negotiations with either country. The government of leftist President Evo Morales last year tried to buy six L-159 ALCA two-seater light combat aircraft, made with U.S. components, from the Czech Republic for $58 million. But Morales disclosed last month that the sale had been vetoed by Washington. Bolivia also has been negotiating to buy arms and equipment from Russia worth about $100 million, including an Antonov aircraft for presidential travel outside the country.

DTN News: North Korea Fires 7 Missiles Off East Coast

DTN News: North Korea Fires 7 Missiles Off East Coast

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - July 5, 2009: North Korea celebrated U.S. Independence Day with a test firing of seven missiles test into the waters off the peninsula's east coast from morning until evening on Saturday. A pedestrian passes by a television screen showing news of a North Korean missile launch, at the Seoul Railway Station in on June 4, 2009. North Korea test-fired seven missiles off its east coast. North Korea test-fired seven missiles off its east coast, South Korean officials said, in what appeared to be a calculated message of defiance timed for the US Independence Day holiday. The launches fuelled regional tensions after the communist state's nuclear test in May, which coincided with the US Memorial Day holiday. The missiles, however, were mid-range, not the long-range intercontinental ballistic test that some had feared — a threat which has led Washington to deploy anti-missile systems to Hawaii. "It is a provocative act that clearly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions 1695, 1718, and 1874 that bar North Korea's every activity related to ballistic missiles," South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Military officials told South Korea's Yonhap news agency that the missiles fired had a range of 240-310 miles — enough to hit targets all over South Korea — and may have been of the Rodong class — a North Korean upgrade of the Russian Scud. The first test launch took place about 8 a.m. and the last one finished at 5:45 p.m. Meanwhile, in a statement released by Russia's Foreign Ministry, Russia and China both urged calm from all parties. Saturday's launchings were not the first to coincide with a symbolic American date. In 2006, North Korea test launched several missiles, including a long-range Taepodong 2, on Independence Day. This year, North Korea's May 25 nuclear test coincided with Memorial Day. North Korea had previously warned international shipping to avoid its east coast until July 10, indicating the possibility of more test launches to come. The Saturday barrage followed the test firing by North Korea of four anti-shipping missiles Thursday, after North-South talks broke down with no progress. While the South Korean Navy has said recently that its patrol vessels are superior to those of the North, and outgunned them in naval clashes in 1999 and 2002, anti-shipping missiles are considered a serious threat to South Korean ships. With North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il believed to be seriously sick, there have been signs that he is positioning his third son, Kim Jong-un to take over. Some experts in South Korea see the North's threatening behavior since April — missile and nuclear tests; bellicose rhetoric; the holding of two American reporters and a South Korean worker at a joint industrial park — in the context of moves to placate the North Korean military in advance of a move to emplace Kim Jong-un as head of state. Kim Jong-il's official title is chairman of the country's National Defense Committee and he has consistently promoted his songeun (military first) policy, but what Jong-un's relationship with the military leadership is, is unknown.

DTN News: U.S. Navy USS John McCain 'Preparing To Intercept North Korean Ship'

DTN News: U.S. Navy USS John McCain 'Preparing To Intercept North Korean Ship' *Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) NEW YORK - June 21, 2009: A U.S. navy destroyer is getting into position to intercept a flagged North Korean ship suspected of carrying weaponry or nuclear materials in defiance of a UN ban, Fox News said on Friday.The U.S. Navy commissioned the guided missile destroyer JOHN S. McCAIN on Saturday, July 2, 1994 at Bath Iron Works Corporation, Bath, Maine, commencing at 10 a.m. USS JOHN S. McCAIN was in the Persian Gulf in late 1996 in support of Operation Southern Watch, where it took part in maritime inderdiction operations as part of a force augmentation in the region.

Citing a senior U.S. defense source, the news channel also said that the USS John McCain would cut off the Kang Nam as soon as it left the area off the coast of China.If the ship is carrying weaponry or nuclear material then this would be a violation of UN Resolution 1874. The ship is believed to be heading to Singapore.

The UN imposed sanctions on North Korea last week that forbid the import and export of nuclear material, missiles and all other weapons, with the exception of small arms. It has authorized the world's navies to enforce the ban. The sanctions came in response to a North Korean nuclear test on May 25.

However, the sanctions do not allow navies to forcibly board North Korean ships, only to halt them and request access.

North Korea has said that any attempt to board its ships would be taken as an act of war, which would be met with "one thousand-fold retaliation."

Tensions were further heightened on Thursday when a Japanese paper reported that North Korea was planning to fire a long-range ballistic missile in the direction of the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Japan's Yomiuri daily said, citing Defense Ministry analysis and U.S. intelligence, that the launch was most likely to take place between July 4 and July 8. However, it also said that the missile would be unable to reach the state's main islands.

DTN News: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Says North Korea Must Give Up Nukes

DTN News: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Says North Korea Must Give Up Nukes *Sources: Int'l Media / AP (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 18, 2009: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday that his nation and its allies will not be intimidated by nuclear threats from neighboring North Korea. US President Barack Obama speaks during a joint press conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak in the Rose Garden on June 16, 2009 at the White House in Washington, DC. Lee arrived for the talks after indicating that he wants the United States to offer fresh guarantees that South Korea is under the US security umbrella, days after the United Nations slapped new nuclear sanctions on Pyongyang. Lee and President Barack Obama have used the South Korean leader's three-day visit to Washington to display a unified front in the face of North Korea's threats of nuclear war and its vow to expand its nuclear programs. Tensions in Northeast Asia have risen sharply since the United Nations slapped the North with sanctions as punishment for its nuclear test last month. The North responded to Lee's visit with a statement vowing "a one hundred- or one thousand-fold retaliation with merciless military strikes" for infringements on its sovereignty. Lee told an audience at George Washington University, where he received an honorary degree, that South Korea would not allow nuclear weapons in North Korea under any circumstances. "North Korea continues to engage in belligerent activities, ... threatening peace and stability in Northeast Asia and beyond," Lee said. But Lee also held out the possibility that a nuclear-free North Korea could gain peace and prosperity and normal relations with the outside world. "North Korea must understand that it is in their best interests to fully give up their nuclear weapons ambitions," Lee said through an interpreter. "When North Korea takes meaningful steps toward peace and dialogue, Korea, as well as the rest of the international community, stands ready to extend a helping hand." South Korean President Lee Myung-bak speaks after receiving an honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree in the Jack Morton Auditorium at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, on June 17, 2009. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Wednesday that the United States is now aggressively implementing U.N. sanctions. He urged the North to return to nuclear disarmament negotiations. Asked about the possibility that the North was preparing for more missile tests, Crowley said, "I don't think anyone in the United States government has a crystal ball on why North Korea does what it does. Its behavior is provocative. It represents a threat to the region. We have grave concerns about the behavior of North Korea." Crowley suggested that more North Korean entities could be added to a U.N. sanctions list. At their White House meeting on Tuesday, Lee and Obama said they were united in their efforts to stop the North from using nuclear brinkmanship to squeeze concessions from a frightened world. North Korea already has tested two underground nuclear devices and is believed by U.S. intelligence to possess enough material to make several nuclear bombs. North Korea is furious over U.N. sanctions that toughen an arms embargo and authorize ship searches in an attempt to thwart the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The United Nations, however, did not authorize military force to compel the measures. Obama said the leaders agreed that the new U.N. resolution must be fully enforced, something the North has said it would consider an act of war. The North has responded to the U.N. sanctions by promising to weaponize all its plutonium and step up its nuclear bomb-making by enriching uranium. Both plutonium and uranium can be used to make atomic bombs. U.S. officials have said the North Koreans also appear to be making preparations for a third nuclear test. On Wednesday, the government-run Minju Joson newspaper published a commentary saying, "If the U.S. and its followers infringe upon our republic's sovereignty even a bit, our military and people will launch a one hundred- or one thousand-fold retaliation with merciless military strikes." Lee also pressed during his visit for quick ratification of a stalled U.S.-South Korean free trade agreement. At a Tuesday dinner sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Lee urged representatives of top American companies to push for approval of a deal that he said would dramatically boost trade and strengthen the countries' alliance. Obama, however, suggested that work still had to be done on the deal, which was signed in 2007 after painstaking negotiations but has since faced complications over disputes over autos and U.S. beef imports to Korea. The agreement has been promoted as a potential $10 billion boon to the U.S. economy. Failure, supporters say, would threaten U.S. standing in an important region.