Aso Says UN Resolution Is Only Way to Act on N. Korea

Bloomberg | July 9 2006

A United Nations resolution that would impose sanctions on North Korea is the only way to respond to its missile launches, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said.

``There is no alternative to a binding resolution,'' Aso said on NHK Television's `Sunday Debate' program in Tokyo today. ``Any other measure would be meaningless.''

Members of the UN Security Council will vote tomorrow, Aso said, on a resolution submitted by Japan to impose sanctions on North Korea for seven missile tests it conducted last week. The U.S. supports the resolution, while China and Russia have said they favor a non-binding UN presidential statement criticizing the launches.

Aso said it would be a mistake for the UN to refrain from taking action against North Korea, should permanent members of the Security Council veto the resolution. China, one of the council's five permanent members, on July 7 rejected Japan's proposal, saying that imposing sanctions could heighten tensions in Asia. South Korea today called for a calm response.

``It would be a mistake to alter the stance for the sake of one country with veto power, even though many countries agree'' on the proposal, Aso said. On a separate program today, he said it would be ``difficult'' to get China's support for the resolution. The foreign minister said on Asahi Television's `Sunday Project' he hoped China would abstain, rather than veto the proposal.

Statement or Resolution

Aso said the July 5 missile launches prove that previous action by the UN in the wake of tests in 1993 and 1998 weren't enough to correct North Korea's behavior. North Korea test-fired a Rodong-1 mid-range ballistic missile in 1993 and a Taepodong-1 long-range ballistic missile in 1998. The Taepodong-1, which North Korea claimed was a satellite launch, flew over Japan before falling into the Pacific Ocean.

The UN didn't take any action on the 1993 launch and only released a statement condemning the 1998 launch two weeks after it happened, Aso said.

Diplomats from China and Russia, another permanent council member, have advocated a non-binding presidential statement from the Security Council. Japan prefers a resolution, as the Taepodong-2 missile and six shorter range rockets were fired over the Sea of Japan.

Chapter 7 Actions

The resolution calls for actions under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which authorizes economic and diplomatic sanctions and the use of force to counter an international threat. Governments would be asked to block money, goods and technology intended to support North Korean programs to build and deploy missiles and weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. suspects North Korea has built nuclear bombs.

Under the measure, North Korea would be required to resume a missile-launching moratorium and would be asked to return to six-nation talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea agreed to freeze missile tests in 2002 as part of the so-called Pyongyang Declaration. The country reiterated the pledge in 2004.

Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator in the six- nation talks, said yesterday the U.S. is willing to speak directly with North Korea if it returns to nuclear disarmament negotiations that include South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.

Hill, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, today said North Korea ``miscalculated'' the international response to the launches.

`No Justification'

``There was absolutely no justification for what they did,'' Hill told reporters in Seoul after meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jong Seok. ``It's an example of North Korea acting in a very reckless way and disturbing the harmony of the region.''

Hill, who met with Chinese officials in Beijing on July 7 before traveling to South Korea, is scheduled to arrive in Japan today, said Douglas Morris, assistant information officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Still, South Korea's presidential office said today that President Roh Moo Hyun preferred to take a calm, slow approach in response to North Korea's missile tests.

``There is no reason for us to fret over the missile tests like Japan,'' the office said in a statement posted on its Web site. ``That would only increase insecurity among the Korean people.''

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il said there would be no concessions to the U.S., the Yonhap News agency reported today, citing the communist nation's state television.

No Concessions

``We will revenge if the enemy revenges upon us, and answer with an all-out war if they begin an all-out war,'' state television quoted Kim as saying, according to Yonhap. ``There can not be even the smallest of concessions to the U.S. invaders,'' Kim was quoted in the report as saying.

The last round of six-nation talks ended in November without agreement after the parties had signed a September 2005 declaration calling for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

North Korea on July 6 vowed to continue missile tests after firing seven rockets, including a long-range Taepodong-2 missile, on July 5.

Japan then banned a North Korean ferry from entering its ports for six months. North Korea's Mangyongbong 92 ferry, which runs between Wonsan and Niigata, Japan, and is the main communications link between the countries, was stopped on July 5 from entering its port of call in northern Japan.

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