UN Chief Calls for Unified Message to NK
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced his hope Tuesday (local time) that the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) will reach an agreement on North Korea's rocket launch and send a ``unified message'' to the Stalinist country.
``I have already issued my statement expressing my regret over the firing. I understand that the council is still in the process of discussing this matter,'' Ban told reporters in New York after returning from a trip to Europe. ``My hope is that the council will come out with a unified message on the issue.''
The remarks came as the 15-nation UNSC is divided over whether North Korea violated a U.N. resolution banning any testing of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, by the rocket launch April 5.
The council held an emergency session immediately following the launch but failed to come up with a collective response.
The following day, the five permanent members of the council ― the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia ― as well as Japan, held a closed-door meeting but failed to agree on stronger sanctions against North Korea due to vetoes by China and Russia.
Japan and the U.S. have said the rocket launch was a test a long-range missile under the guise of a satellite launch, claiming it was a violation of UNSC Resolution 1718, adopted in 2006 after the North's first ballistic missile launch and detonation of a nuclear device.
China and Russia, however, do not agree, insisting Pyongyang launched the rocket for satellite delivery, and hence it was not a breach of the resolution.
Hours after the North's rocket launch, the U.N. chief voiced regret over the provocation.
``Given the volatility in the region, as well as a stalemate in interaction among the concerned parties, such a launch is not conducive to efforts to promote dialogue, regional peace and stability,'' Ban said in a statement.
Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, urged Pyongyang ``to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions, and all countries concerned to focus on ways to build confidence and restore dialogue.''
The United States has also reiterated that it wants a strong response from the UNSC to North Korea's rocket launch.
``We are going to be working toward a strong and effective response from the Security Council,'' State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters. ``We want to have the right response to what the North has done, and so we are going to continue to work very hard on this track.''