 U.S. Assistant Secretary for East Asia and the Pacific Kurt Campbell is seen inside an elevator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Monday. Campbell is visiting here to discuss North Korea issues with Seoul officials including Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung-hwan. / Korea Times |
The United States called for unified international efforts to persuade North Korea against further provocative acts, Monday, as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was set to issue a statement over the Stalinist state’s failed rocket launch.
“We agree that even though the launch was a failure it was a provocative action that threatens international security, violates North Korea’s obligations under UNSC resolutions, and contravenes its own recent commitments,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who was in Seoul for talks.
“The international community is united in its strong determination to discourage any further provocations from the DPRK,” he added, using the acronym for the North’s official name.
While Pyongyang insisted the launch, carried out Friday, was to put a satellite into orbit, the international community saw it as a ballistic missile test.
The failed launch raised alarms over the country’s efforts to build a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. It is being speculated that the launch will be followed by a nuclear test as it was in 2009.
Campbell said China and Russia, who have ties with the North, shared the same determination.
The UNSC will release a presidential statement on North Korea’s failed yet provocative rocket launch, a Seoul official said.
“The content of the statement has yet to be confirmed, but it appears to be stronger than that released in 2009,” the official said, referring to the UNSC presidential statement following the so-called satellite launch three years ago.
The official added that China, a permanent member of the council and the North’s closest ally, signed off on it more easily than expected. Beijing has shielded the North from UNSC censure in recent years.
Regional players have launched a flurry of diplomacy over how to discourage the North’s behavior.
Campbell said that in talks with Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan as well as Seoul's top nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam, the allies agreed to “remain committed to closely coordinating and cooperating on potential next steps” on the North. He arrived after holding talks in Tokyo.
The Security Council initially “deplored” the launch during an emergency meeting held hours after the rocket broke into pieces over the West Sea shortly after liftoff.
The launch broke a North-U.S deal under which Pyongyang stood to gain 240,000 tons of nutritional assistance in exchange for steps to slow down its nuclear program. The agreement opened the door for the stalled six-party talks on the North’s denuclearization.
Lim will head to Washington for talks beginning today to further the consultations.
Meanwhile, President Lee Myung-bak warned North Korea Monday that its pursuit of missiles and nuclear weapons will ultimately undermine the regime, calling on Pyongyang to choose a path of reform and a better life for its people.
“Such acts will only put North Korea in greater danger,” Lee said in a biweekly radio address. “History clearly shows that the self-inflicted collapse of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War era was brought about by a focus on the arms race to maintain its internal regime while disregarding the lives of the people.”
He urged the North to consider the case of Myanmar, which has recently sought to warm ties with the West; as well as the economic reform models of China and Vietnam.
“There is no reason for the North not to do likewise. If it would only decide to unlock its doors and redirect its course now, it would not take long for it to catch up with China and Vietnam,” he said.
The UNSC censured the North in 2009 following its missile launches and nuclear test that year, slapping it with resolution 1874 which expanded economic sanctions and encouraged U.N. member states to search North Korean cargo vessels.
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