By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The U.N. Security Council's agreement on a presidential statement condemning the March 26 attack on the South Korean warship Cheonan was not exactly what Seoul diplomats initially wanted as it fails to clearly mention that North Korea was behind the attack.
However, it is a significant achievement for Seoul in that the international community has reached a consensus on how vital and urgent it is to deal with North Korea's military threats, diplomatic sources here said.
In a sense, the action could raise tensions further on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea has threatened war with the South if it is sanctioned by the United Nations for the incident.
The UNSC failed to discuss concrete punitive measures against Pyongyang due to opposition from China and Russia, but Friday's agreement will pave the way for more resolute and severe international response if the North commits an act of aggression again.
"We can say that the UNSC statement was a half success for Seoul," said Hwang Jin-ha, a Grand National Party lawmaker specialized in international and inter-Korean affairs.
"It is regretful that the U.N. failed to clarify who's responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan. However, it is a big first step toward a firm global action against any North Korean provocation in the future."
The statement came about one month after Seoul referred the case to the UNSC, and said "the importance of preventing such further attacks or hostilities" against South Korea and called for full adherence to the Armistice
Agreement, which was signed in 1953 at the end of the three-year Korean War.
"The statement includes a clear and stern message to North Korea," a foreign ministry official said.
"Based on the results of the multi-national investigation that held North Korea responsible, it expressed deep concern over the attack. So, it can be interpreted that the UNSC essentially condemned it."
The official continued to say that demonstrating the unity of the international community over the North's military threats was quite significant.
"The statement is not legally binding, but it is the result of a political compromise among UNSC members," he said.
"It could serve as the basis of further steps in the future. All key elements have been directly and indirectly included in the statement."
This had been a big diplomatic test for Seoul to convince the world how dangerous North Korea is and that inter-Korean conflicts could undermine global peace and security.
South Korea engaged in active diplomacy with the countries surrounding the Korean Peninsula to deal with the aftermath of the sinking.
In May, President Lee Myung-bak called the leaders of the countries involved in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, including U.S. President Barack Obama, to share the outcome of the investigation and urge their backing for joint action.
At his meetings with foreign leaders at home and abroad, Lee called for their firm support for South Korea in seeking international action against the North.
As a result, the Group of Eight industrialized nations, at their summit talks in Toronto, Canada, last month, adopted a joint statement condemning the attack on the Cheonan.
The G-8 didn't directly hold the North accountable, but demanded it refrain from further provocative actions.