By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff reporter
South Korea officially requested the United Nations Security Council to come up with a coordinated international action against North Korea after a multinational investigation team blamed it for the sinking of the naval warship Cheonan, Friday.
The move signaled the beginning of the Seoul-led campaign to force the North to face the consequences of its armed attack which killed 46 sailors near the maritime border in the West Sea on March 26.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is eying two pillars of Cheonan diplomacy ― working with the international community to take a coordinated action against the North to prevent a recurrence and cooperating with allies such as the United States to take measures aimed at causing "pain" to the North Korean regime by cutting cash inflow to the reclusive country.
South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Park In-kook, on behalf of the government, handed over the official letter to Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, who holds the UNSC presidency for June, Friday at the U.N. headquarters.
The letter called on members to investigate the case carefully to concur on international action against the North.
The South Korean government made three points in the letter.
First, the multinational investigation team found that a North Korean armed attack caused the maritime disaster. Second, the North's armed attack posed a grave threat to peace and security of the international community. Lastly, therefore, UNSC members must take a close look at the case to come up with punitive action against the North to prevent the latter from committing similar provocations in the future.
South Korea brought the case to the UNSC as the UN Charter allows its members to "bring any dispute or any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute."
Seoul made a case for its referring the case to the U.N., noting the maritime disaster is not a domestic issue but an armed attack by North Korea and that therefore the provocation should be dealt with at an international level.
Having received the South Korean request, the UNSC members will sit down to discuss the timeline for an agenda and what decision it will make.
Three options are available regarding the Cheonan case.
The UNSC president can issue a press statement regarding the incident. He can also release a presidential statement, which requires him to get a consensus from the members. The U.N. body can also produce a resolution, which can be vetoed by the five permanent members ― the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.
Hours before South Korea's request to the UNSC, North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement, urging the U.N. not to investigate the Cheonan case based on the findings of the multinational investigation team.
If the UNSC takes the step, despite its warning, North Korea said it will take excessively stern measures as it did previously. The statement was construed as meaning that it may test-fire missiles or conduct a fresh nuclear test.
Refraining from unveiling their position on the Seoul-led campaign, China and Russia reiterated that peace and stability on the peninsula is important.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Seoul will continue to convince the UNSC members to join hands in the effort.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Command in Seoul said Friday that it will report to the U.N. that North Korea violated the armistice agreement.
The UNSC teamed up with the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) two weeks ago to review the findings of the investigation and determine the scope of the armistice.
