http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061007.KOREA07/TPStory/TP International/Asia/
Don't do it, UN warns North Korea ALAN FREEMAN WASHINGTON -- The UN Security Council warned North Korea that it faces unspecified consequences if it goes ahead with its stated plan to test a nuclear weapon, saying the test would threaten world peace and security. The United Nations statement -- adopted unanimously by the Security Council -- comes three days after the secretive North Korean regime announced that it would conduct its first-ever nuclear test, blaming the United States for cornering it through its "threat of nuclear war and sanctions." Japan's vice foreign minister said a nuclear explosion could come as early as this weekend, the ninth anniversary of the appointment of Kim Jong Il as head of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. There were suggestions that the test would be carried out deep in an abandoned coal mine. The statement said it deplored the pursuit of nuclear weapons by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the formal name for North Korea. "The Security Council stresses that a nuclear test . . . would represent a clear threat to international peace and security and that should the DPRK ignore calls of the international community, the Security Council will act consistent with its responsibility under the Charter of the United Nations," the statement said. "We think the main point is that North Korea should understand how strongly the United States and other council members feel that they should not test this nuclear device," said John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the UN. "And if they do test it, it will be a very different world a day after the test." If North Korea carries through with its threat, it would be the first testing of a nuclear device in more than eight years. India and Pakistan shocked the world in May of 1998 when the rival nations each tested six underground nuclear devices. The United States, which accounts for half of the world's total nuclear tests, last conducted an underground explosion in 1992. North Korea has said in the past that it possesses nuclear weapons, but has never proven the claim with a test. The UN called on North Korea to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program and reopen talks on implementation of a 2005 pact in which Pyongyang agreed to abandon nuclear plans in return for security guarantees and aid. Pyongyang walked out of the six-party negotiations last year. In North Korea, Mr. Kim met with army commanders, his first public appearance since Tuesday's nuclear test announcement. According to the KCNA official news agency, the assembled soldiers hollered, "Let's fight at the cost of our lives for the respected supreme commander comrade Kim Jong-Il." The KCNA report made no mention of preparations for the test. U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that Washington is urging China and other regional powers to use their influence on North Korea "to convince them to turn away from this." Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to visit Beijing on Sunday and Seoul on Monday to urge both countries to press North Korea to call off its plans. Gary Samore, a former staff member of the U.S. National Security Council who is currently director of studies at the Council for Foreign Relations, said that China remains "the most important asset" that Washington has to work with in trying to halt North Korea's plans. "China would be very alarmed if North Korea conducted a nuclear test, because in China's view that would give Japan a pretext for moving towards greater militarization," Mr. Samore said in an on-line interview posted yesterday on the Council for Foreign Relations website. He said that North Korea believes it can threaten a nuclear test now because it believes Washington is "very weak and distracted" due to the quagmire in Iraq. "That doesn't mean the North Koreans have decided to conduct a nuclear test no matter what," Mr. Samore continued. "I think they're basically testing the waters to see what they can get in return for not testing and what kind of risk they would run if they go ahead and test." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
