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US: North Korea plutonium plans would violate UN resolution (Roundup)
Jun 17, 2009, 10:49 GMT
Vienna - North Korea's plans to turn its plutonium stock into atomic bomb material would violate the latest United Nations Security Council resolution, the United States warned Wednesday.
Speaking at the first meeting of the IAEA's governing board after North Korea's second nuclear test in May, US representative Geoffrey Pyatt also called on the Stalinist state to return to the negotiating table.
Other countries including the US and China likewise urged North Korea to continue multilateral talks.
In reaction to the UN resolution and sanctions passed last Friday, Pyongyang has announced not only that it would weaponize its plutonium, but that it would also begin work on uranium enrichment.
Both actions would violate the resolution that called on North Korea to abandon all nuclear programmes, Pyatt said.
'In the interest of of international peace and security, and the global non-proliferation regime, we hope that North Korea will choose the path of diplomacy rather than confrontation,' he said.
The Czech Republic, speaking on the EU's behalf, and China called on the secluded East Asian country to return to negotiations, according to a participant in the IAEA meeting.
North Korea has pulled out of the six-nation negotiations aimed at persuading the isolated country to abandon its nuclear programme, in return for aid and improved diplomatic and economic relations. The other countries include China, Japan and Russia in addition to South Korea and the United States.
In April, the reclusive state kicked out IAEA inspectors. They were permanently stationed in the Yongbyon nuclear centre to make sure that the installations there remained shuttered, as agreed under by the six-countries.
Japan's representative in Vienna said the nuclear agency had an important role to play in North Korea, echoing remarks by several other members of the 35-country IAEA board.
US President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday called for the robust enforcement of the latest UN sanctions, including the interception of North Korean vessels suspected of carrying nuclear or missile-related technology.
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Older Talkback
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AnswerManJun 25th, 2009 - 15:25:04
The United Nations, as a 'force' in the world, is irrelevant. Nobody pays any attention to their hollow threats. And North Korea seems to get a lot of pleasure in taunting Western powers, the USA in particular. So, what should we all do?
Nothing.
Take a good look at the map and you'll notice that North Korea is directly South of China's main wheat-growing region. And the last thing China wants is a nuclear playboy inviting an attack on their own soil - perhaps out of retaliation for an attack by North Korea. Fallout from such an attack could conceivably 'kill' China's ability to feed itself.
I'd be willing to bet that China has more spies in North Korea than North Korea has in the world. And they're watching things 'very' closely to make sure Kim Jong Il doesn't do anything stupid before he dies (which, according to reports, should be soon). I think what we're seeing now are the last ravings of a man feeling his own mortality - a mortality that might be hastened (ahem) if he continues to rave too much.
I suspect there are also a lot of Chinese spies who are very close to the ailing leader's son, Kim Jong Un, who has been chosen as Kim Jong Il's successor. Unlike his father, Kim Jong Un is an educated man with a sense of humor and might likely lead North Korea in a more conciliatory direction ... especially if encouraged to do so by close Chinese advisors.
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