Obama: N. Korean rocket test would isolate regime
Warning North Korea from its doorstep, President Barack Obama said Pyongyang risks deepening its isolation in the international community if it proceeds with a planned long-range rocket launch.
“North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations,” Obama said during a news conference Sunday in Seoul, South Korea, where he was to attend a nuclear security summit.
Obama spoke fresh off his first visit to the tense Demilitarized Zone, the heavily patrolled no-man’s land between North and South Korea, where he peered long and hard at the isolated North.
“It’s like you’re in a time warp,” Obama said. “It’s like you’re looking across 50 years into a country that has missed 40 years or 50 years of progress.”
Obama looked noticeably fatigued after essentially one long day that involved a 17-hour flight from Washington, a helicopter ride to the border zone, two sets of diplomatic talks, the news conference and an official dinner.