Key Democrat calls for new U.S. policy on N Korea

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) The Bush administration's policy toward North Korea has failed and a new approach must be tried, including punishing the North's leaders and sending a US envoy to Pyongyang for talks, a key Democrat said.

One week after mid-term elections, Rep. Tom Lantos of California, who is expected to head the US House of Representatives International Relations Committee when Democrats take over Congress in January, laid down markers for the way forward.

''The White House must try a new and bold approach towards the vexing North Korean crisis as it is now abundantly clear to the world that our current policies have failed,'' he told a hearing yesterday.

Lantos said North Korean leaders, through sanctions and financial asset freezes, ''must feel personal pain'' for testing a nuclear weapon last month.

Arguing this must be matched with heightened diplomacy, Lantos said U.S. envoy Chris Hill must be dispatched to the next round of six-country talks ''with the authority to negotiate a comprehensive and verifiable deal'' and, afterward, should stop in Pyongyang ''to demonstrate our peaceful intent.'' ''The administration's refusal to allow visits by American diplomats to North Korea must end,'' as must internal divisions that have ''hobbled'' U.S. policy, he added.

Faced with this and other criticism, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said the administration achieved a tactical, but not strategic, success with a September 2005 agreement in which the North pledged to give up its nuclear program in return for political and economic benefits. The agreement has been stalled ever since.

BURNS: SOUTH KOREA CAN DO MORE Meanwhile, the administration put fresh public pressure on ally South Korea to enforce U.N. sanctions that are aimed at persuading North Korea to end its nuclear weapons programs.

Just back from Asia, Burns said South Korea gave assurances during his trip -- and again in the last 24 hours -- that it would implement a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing the sanctions.

Some steps have been taken, but ''there's more that can be done by the government of South Korea,'' he told reporters.

Burns said he gave South Korean officials ideas for implementing sanctions but he declined to make them public.

The comments hint at growing U.S.-South Korea tensions.

One U.S. disappointment was Seoul's refusal to join the Proliferation Security Initiative, a group of 80 countries that shares intelligence and conducts training exercises on interdicting nuclear and other weapons shipments.

''The South Koreans say they have gotten tougher (with Pyongyang since the nuclear test) but I don't see it. They can't be dissuaded on the failure of their own policy,'' said a U.S. official who requested anonymity.

Rep. Henry Hyde, the committee chairman, said South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun would be held to account for a promise to congressional leaders in September.

''He pledged a firm reaction (toward Pyongyang), including the likely use of sanctions ... We are confident President Roh is a man of his word,'' the Illinois Republican said.

After boycotting the six-country talks for nearly a year and conducting a nuclear test in October, North Korea agreed to resume discussions, which include the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. But no date has been set.

President George W Bush is in Asia for regional meetings and North Korea will be a main topic.

Reuters PDS VP0736