N. Korea rejects UN sanctions vote
BayBak, Azerbaijan | 2502 days ago | Sunday, 16th July , 2006 , 19:18 [pm] | International
By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Sunday it was not bound by a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing weapons-related sanctions on it and insisted the country would “bolster its war deterrent” in every way.
The Security Council had acted with “irresponsibility” by voting unanimously for a resolution requiring nations to prevent North Korea [...]
By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Sunday it was not bound by a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing weapons-related sanctions on it and insisted the country would “bolster its war deterrent” in every way.
The Security Council had acted with “irresponsibility” by voting unanimously for a resolution requiring nations to prevent North Korea from acquiring dangerous weapons, an unnamed North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
“Our Republic will bolster its war deterrent for self-defense in every way, by all means and methods, now that the situation has reached the worst phase due to the extremely hostile act of the U.S.,” the spokesman was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency.
North Korea refers to its military build-up and its weapons of mass destruction programs as its war deterrent, saying the U.S. military presence and drills on the Korean peninsula are a prelude to war against it.
Washington says its 30,000 troops are deployed under an alliance with Seoul to deter a military threat from the North.
Chinese President Hu Jintao called on Sunday for a resumption of six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.
“Both sides expressed their commitment to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” Hu told reporters after a meeting with President Bush on the sidelines of a summit of Group of Eight leaders in St. Petersburg, Russia.
“Both sides agreed to continue their efforts to move forward with the six-party talks so that at the end of the day the entire Korean peninsula can be de-nuclearized in a peaceful way through dialogue and negotiation,” Hu added.
RESOLUTION
Saturday’s Security Council resolution condemns North Korea’s July 5 multiple missile launches and demands Pyongyang suspend all missile activities and return to stalled talks.
The resolution requires all U.N. member states to prevent imports and exports of any material or funds relating to the reclusive Communist nation’s missile programs or weapons of mass destruction.
It demands North Korea “suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program”, and re-establish a moratorium on the launching of missiles.
The 15-member Security Council wrangled for 10 days over a response to Pyongyang’s test-firings of seven missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2 that could theoretically hit the continental United States but fell into the Sea of Japan.
The Security Council was divided until hours before the vote over whether to cite Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for military force if another specific resolution is adopted.
China had threatened to veto the measure if Chapter 7 were mentioned, recalling the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that went ahead without specific Security Council authorization.
Consequently, Japan, the United States, Britain and France had no choice but to drop the phrase. But they still considered the language of the resolution tough and binding.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised China for the “responsibility” it showed by supporting the resolution.
She said it helped underscore the commitment to the six-party framework of talks which have been held by the United States, North and South Korea, Russia, Japan and China.
As North Korea’s closest ally, China sent a high-level mission to Pyongyang in the past week but failed to persuade it to return to talks. North Korea has insisted Washington first lift financial sanctions imposed last year.
PYONGYANG RESPONSE
The council resolution was the first on North Korea since 1993, when the council urged Pyongyang to open military sites to nuclear inspectors and reverse its decision to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
North Korea could respond with another missile launch or possibly even a nuclear test to show it is undaunted and undeterred, said Paik Hak-soon who heads North Korea studies at the Sejong Institute, a national security think tank near Seoul.
North Korea has enough nuclear material to make as many as 13 atomic bombs, according to one recent study.
“But it is unlikely that the North will exhaust those cards too early,” Paik told Reuters in Seoul.
“Pyongyang probably sees the resolution largely as a political, diplomatic move — something Bush and Japan joined hands to accomplish, but does not bear much substantive effectiveness that did not exist before.”
Japan initiated the resolution, and its vice minister for foreign affairs, Shintaro Ito, said the Security Council had “acted swiftly and robustly in response to the reckless and condemnable act” of North Korea’s missile tests, which Tokyo considered a “direct threat to its security”.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement, urged the North to reinstate its moratorium on missile launches and rejoin talks on its nuclear program which Pyongyang left in November.
, Voice of a Nation[2] Print
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