North Korea missile tests spark sanctions warnings
A South Korean protester burns a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong II and North's flags during an anti-North Korea rally in Seoul, yesterday. North Korea test-launched six missiles including a long-range Taepodong in an early morning barrage yesterday.
LONDON, Wednesday
A South Korean protester burns a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and North's flags during an anti-North Korea rally in Seoul, yesterday. North Korea test-launched six missiles including a long-range Taepodong in an early morning barrage yesterday. Photo by Reuters
World leaders condemned North Korea’s missile tests today, threatening to take the issue before the UN Security Council and calling on Pyongyang to rejoin stalled six-nation talks.
In Tokyo, Japan warned harsher sanctions against North Korea and immediate international response to the crisis.
Tokyo would consider bolstering sanctions against the communist regime, including freezing money transfers from Japan to the North, if Pyongyang didn’t show restraint, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said on public broadcaster NHK following the North’s latest test launch late Wednesday.
Mr Aso also called for a concerted and immediate international response against Pyongyang’s test launches.
Earlier, the minister urged the UN Security Council and Group of Eight industrialised nations to send a "strong message'' to North Korea over missile tests in phone calls to his Russian and French counterparts.
The United States said North Korea’s bold tests – including the abortive launch of a long-range Taepodong-2 missile believed capable of reaching the United States – was meant to intimidate other countries. Japan, near the missiles’ strike zone, put its military on high alert.
Nato said the seven tests threatened security in east Asia and the rest of the world, while Russia said they undermined international trust in the impoverished nation. European nations criticised Kim Jong Il’s government.
The UN Security Council planned to hold an emergency session today, after a request by the Japanese mission, French Ambassador to the UN, Mr Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said.
The Japanese were expected to present a resolution condemning North Korea’s actions, according to a UN diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. Plans for the resolution have not been finalised, the diplomat said.
The missiles reportedly fell into the Sea of Japan while US officials said the long-range missile failed shortly after take-off. Japanese and South Korean officials said the missiles fell into the sea separating the Korean peninsula from Japan.
The United States warned North Korea against any more provocative acts, and said Washington would take necessary measures to protect itself and its allies.
In 1998, North Korea shocked the region by firing a Taepodong missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean. Following protests over that test, Pyongyang observed a moratorium on long-range missile launches since 1999.
Talks between North Korea, South Korea, China, the United States, Russia and Japan have been stalled since last year over Pyongyang’s insistence that Washington drop financial sanctions against it. Negotiations also included giving badly needed aid to North Korea in exchange for abandoning its nuclear programme.
In Seoul, Mr Suh Choo-suk, senior secretary to the South Korean president on national security, called the launch a "provocative act.''
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was calling her counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia to discuss possible UN Security Council action, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said.
In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman said the tests were irresponsible. "We urge North Korea to rejoin the six-party talks ... it is important that the Security Council leaves North Korea in no doubt about the strength of international concern over their actions,'' said Mr Blair’s spokesman, who speaks on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
Russia, once a protector of communist ally North Korea, also denounced the tests and summoned North Korean Ambassador Pak Ui Chun to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev.
"It was emphasised that North Korea’s missile launches damage peace and stability in the region and complicate the potential for resolving the nuclear problems on the Korean peninsula to the benefit of all interested states and the international community as a whole,'' the ministry said in a statement.
Belgium, Germany and France – which is currently presiding over the UN Security Council – joined in condemning the tests. The French Foreign Ministry said North Korea acted improperly by breaking the 1999 moratorium. (Agencies)
