McCain assails Clinton on N. Korea

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

October 11, 2006

WASHINGTON - John McCain fired the opening salvo in the 2008 presidential campaign against possible opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday over the issue of North Korea's nukes.

Speaking at a campaign event in Michigan, the Arizona Republican attacked Bill Clinton's policy of negotiating directly with North Korea as a "failure" - and jabbed Sen. Clinton for criticizing President George W. Bush's handling of the crisis.

"I would remind Senator Clinton and other Democrats critical of the Bush administration's policies that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated was a failure," McCain said, reading from a prepared statement.

When North Korea flouted agreements with Clinton in the late 1990s, "They were rewarded every single time by the Clinton administration with further talks," McCain added.

McCain's comments, coming in the wake of recent GOP attacks on Bill Clinton for failing to kill Osama bin Laden, are another sign that the GOP hopes to deflect criticism of Bush onto the former president.

"Now is not the time to play politics of the most dangerous kind - with our policy on North Korea," said Philippe Reines, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton. "History is clear that nothing the Bush administration has done has stopped the North Koreans. ... President Bush has been in charge of North Korea policy for six years, and two days ago we saw the brazen result."

In 1994, the Clinton administration coaxed North Korea's dictator into freezing nuclear production in exchange for humanitarian aid. Six years later, Secretary of State Madeline Albright visited Kim Jong Il. McCain and other Republicans say Kim deceived Albright by secretly stepping up development of his atomic program, which led to Monday's test.

Sen. Clinton says Bush's refusal to engage North Korea in direct talks has doomed chances for a negotiated settlement.

This story was supplemented with Associated Press reports.