The United Nations Security Council on April 11, 2009 reached a basic agreement on a draft presidential statement that "condemns" North Korea's rocket launch on April 5, 2009 as a "contravention" of a resolution banning the country from all missile-related activities.
North Korea has sent out an alarming signal by blasting off what it called a rocket to place into the earth’s orbit a communication satellite. The world is feeling perturbed because it was actually North Korea’s Taepodong-2 ballistic missile that flew over Japan.
It is capable of hitting targets in Alaska or Hawaii in the US. Pyongyang’s action is seen as an attempt to acquire nuclear warhead delivering capability. This is clearly a violation of a Security Council resolution passed in 2006 when North Korea conducted nuclear and missile tests.
Unanimous Decision
The development came after Japan and the five permanent members -- the US, the UK, France, Russia and China -- struck a deal on a nonbinding presidential statement, following Japan’s decision to withdraw its bid for a binding resolution.
Acting on the agreement between Japan and the five permanent members, all 15 members of the Security Council met behind closed doors and basically agreed on the statement.
The draft statement is "very strong and sends a clear message to the DPRK that their violation of international law will not be treated with impunity." DPRK is the acronym of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's formal name.
Japan had been intensely lobbying for a resolution as a means of sending a strong message on North Korea's rocket launch, which was widely seen as a disguised test-firing of a long-range ballistic missile. A Security Council meeting was convened last Sunday at the request of Japan.
Japan backed down from its demand that the Security Council adopt a binding resolution, which would have been the toughest response from the powerful U.N. body, in the face of strong opposition from China and a major policy shift by the United States.
The draft presidential statement, outlined by China in consultation with the United States, is expected to be formally adopted Monday afternoon by the 15 Security Council members -- the veto-wielding five permanent members and the 10 nonpermanent members.
The presidential statement, which the United Nations distributed to the media, said the council "condemns" the launch and that the action is "in contravention of Security Council Resolution 1718."
That wording is stronger than the expression of regret China had earlier insisted on using in the statement. Diplomatic sources said Washington persuaded China to use a word that has a more critical tone out of consideration for Japan.
The Statement
The presidential statement states that North Korea "must comply fully with its obligation under Resolution 1718," adopted in October 2006 following its nuclear test. It also demands North Korea "not conduct any further launch."The statement "calls upon all member states to comply fully with their obligations under Resolution 1718."
The resolution bans North Korea from all ballistic missile activity and calls for the international community to stop trading weapons and luxury goods with North Korea.
The statement requests that the Security Council sanctions committee established to deal with Resolution 1718 designate additional goods subject to a trade embargo against North Korea and entities whose assets are to be frozen due to suspected activities related to nuclear weapons and missile development. The statement calls for an early resumption of the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia have been deadlocked since late 2008 over ways to verify the North's nuclear programmes.
The US, in a major policy change, proposed the presidential statement earlier this week, effectively ending Japan's hopes of the 15-member Security Council adopting a binding resolution.
The US move left Japan with no option but to accept a presidential statement given earlier readiness on the part of Britain, France and Russia to back it.Washington's shift in its stance was in response to deep differences between Japan and China. Japan, along with the United States, initially proposed a binding resolution calling for stricter enforcement of existing sanctions on North Korea.
China, North Korea's closest ally, initially proposed a nonbinding press statement, which is even weaker than a nonbinding presidential statement. A press statement is read out only to the press by the Security Council president while a presidential statement, requiring agreement by the 15 Security Council members, is read out inside the global body's chamber.
Creating New Tensions
The Security Council issued statement after North Korea test-fired an intermediate-range Taepodong-1 ballistic missile in August 1998. It adopted a resolution demanding that North Korea suspend all missile-related activities after it launched seven ballistic missiles including a Taepodong-2 missile in July 2006.
Many reasons are being mentioned behind what North Korea has done by announcing it in advance. One of them is that Pyongyang is unhappy with South Korea’s abandonment of its 10-year rapprochement programme with North Korea.
This may be Pyongyang’s way of attracting US attention to prevail upon Seoul to review its decision. Whatever the truth, North Korea’s nuclear and missile ambitions have created new tensions in the region.
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