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Obama presses Iran & DPRK over nuclear programs
U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday night ratcheted up pressure on Tehran and Pyongyang over their nuclear programs.
Delivering his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, Obama said that "because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before."
"And on the Korean Peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons," Obama said in his prime television time address, which outlines his administration's priorities for the new year.
Nuclear programs of Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have been a top concern of the Obama administration. When he took office in January 2009, Obama adopted an engagement approach in dealing with the two states.
But standoff between Iran and the West escalated in 2010, leading to a fourth round of sanctions slapped on it by the UN Security Council in June, followed by separate sanctions by the United States, the European Union and other countries.
The latest round of talks between Iran and six world powers ended last weekend in Istanbul, Turkey, without even a plan for further talks. Iran demanded the world powers -- Britain, France, China, the U.S., Russia and Germany, to recognize its rights to develop nuclear program and enrich uranium as well as lift sanctions before talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said early this month that the sanctions were hurting Iran and called for more work on sanctions against Iran.
Pyongyang recently claimed it has built a highly sophisticated facility to enrich uranium, raising security concern in the region. It also expressed its willingness to return to the stalled six-party nuclear talks.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg arrived in Seoul Wednesday for talks over the DPRK's claimed uranium enrichment program.
Obama presses Iran, DPRK over nuclear programs
U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday night ratcheted up pressure on Tehran and Pyongyang over their nuclear programs.
Delivering his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, Obama said that "because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before."
"And on the Korean Peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons," Obama said in his prime television time address, which outlines his administration's priorities for the new year.
Nuclear programs of Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have been a top concern of the Obama administration. When he took office in January 2009, Obama adopted an engagement approach in dealing with the two states.
But standoff between Iran and the West escalated in 2010, leading to a fourth round of sanctions slapped on it by the UN Security Council in June, followed by separate sanctions by the United States, the European Union and other countries.
The latest round of talks between Iran and six world powers ended last weekend in Istanbul, Turkey, without even a plan for further talks. Iran demanded the world powers -- Britain, France, China, the U.S., Russia and Germany, to recognize its rights to develop nuclear program and enrich uranium as well as lift sanctions before talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said early this month that the sanctions were hurting Iran and called for more work on sanctions against Iran.
Pyongyang recently claimed it has built a highly sophisticated facility to enrich uranium, raising security concern in the region. It also expressed its willingness to return to the stalled six-party nuclear talks.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg arrived in Seoul Wednesday for talks over the DPRK's claimed uranium enrichment program.
Obama presses Iran, DPRK over nuclear programs