By J Nastranis
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – When Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the Kremlin on July 4, 2017 they stressed the need for establishing a peace mechanism that would require North Korea to suspend its nuclear programme and the United States to halt military exercises and use of the anti-missile defence system in South Korea.
The Russian-Chinese Kremlin meeting came after North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), said it had successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting Alaska, the largest and most sparsely populated U.S. state in the northwest of Canada.
Two months later, on September 4, at the Security Council emergency meeting in New York, China highlighted the proposal that presidents Xi and Putin had made in July. Through such an approach, actions could be taken to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. The meeting was held one day after the DPRK announced its “perfect success in the test of a hydrogen bomb for intercontinental ballistic missile”.
While firmly supporting the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, China strongly urged Pyongyang to comply with international measures. The situation on the Peninsula had deteriorated, China’s Liu Jieyi said, but stressed that China would never allow chaos or war to erupt.
It was the second emergency Security Council meeting on non-proliferation in less than a week and the tenth to discuss the DPRK this year triggered by its nuclear test, which Pyonyang said, “marked a very significant occasion in attaining the final goal of completing the state nuclear force”.
According to a “not-an-official-record” of the meeting that lasted nearly one-and-a-half hour, the Council discussed “options that would promptly de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula”.
Effrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said that data from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) showed that the recent nuclear bomb testing conducted by the DPRK had had an estimated yield of between 50 and 100 kilotons, more than five times more powerful than the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima in 1945.
“We are alarmed by this dangerous provocation,” he said, noting the Secretary-General António Guterres’ condemnation of the underground nuclear test. “This act is yet another serious breach of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s international obligations and undermines international non-proliferation and disarmament efforts.”
The test was also profoundly destabilizing for regional and international security, he said, emphasizing that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was the only country that continued to break the norm against nuclear test explosions. The Secretary-General reiterated his call on Pyongyang’s leadership to cease such acts and to comply fully with its international obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions.
As tensions rose, so did the risk of misunderstanding, miscalculation and escalation, he said, stressing that the latest serious developments required a comprehensive response in order to break the cycle of provocations from the DPRK. Such a response must include “wise and bold diplomacy” to be effective.
As the Council considered its reaction, he said, the Secretary-General reiterated the importance of responding to humanitarian imperatives regardless of the political situation. “The people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea rely on the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need,” he said.
“We will continue to follow the developments and remain in close coordination with the concerned international organizations, members of the Council and other Governments concerned.”
Several Council members emphasized “the need to resolve tensions through diplomatic channels”, and many speakers agreed that sanctions alone would not solve the problem. Sweden’s delegate, for example, stressed that negotiations must prevail to resolve the current tensions.
Others emphasized that no military solution had addressed the ongoing tensions and that diplomatic measures were needed. Many Council members expressed alarm, calling for adopting fresh sanctions to economically choke the DPRK’s nuclear programme.
“The people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea rely on the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need,” he said. “We will continue to follow the developments and remain in close coordination with the concerned international organizations, members of the Council and other Governments concerned.”
“Enough is enough,” said Ambassador Nikki Haley, the U.S. permanent representative to the UN, stressing that the stakes could not be higher, especially since 24 years of sanctions and half-measures were not enough, and announcing that her delegation would soon table a draft resolution on the matter. “We must now adopt the strongest possible measures.”
“Time is ticking,” Ambassador François Delattre, France’s permanent representative to the UN, calling for new, more robust sanctions, including measures adopted by the European Union.
Supporting that view, the representative of the Republic of Korea (the official name of South Korea) said the Council must respond with the adoption of a new resolution containing tougher actions. That must include additional measures to further block funds that could possibly flow into the country’s illegal weapons-of-mass-destruction programme, corresponding to the magnitude and gravity of the most recent test and to compel Pyongyang to seriously engage in dialogue.
Ambassador Koro Bessho of Japan – which like South Korea feels immediately threatened by North Korea’s nuclear tests – said it was clear how belligerent and dangerous the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s actions were, posing a problem, not only for that country’s neighbours, but the entire international community.
North Korea was the only country to have conducted nuclear tests in the twenty-first century, including its fifth nuclear test exactly a year ago, which had drawn condemnation from Council members, in the strongest terms. Nevertheless, Pyongyang continued to pour precious resources into enhancing its nuclear capabilities.
Thus, the sixth nuclear test had exhibited a magnitude of explosion far greater than the previous one and had raised the threat to an unprecedented level. In that context, Japan stressed the need for the Council to swiftly adopt a new resolution with further robust sanction measures.
While warning that the provocative actions by Pyongyang had recently gained dangerous momentum, Russia’s Vassily Nebenzia said that military solutions could not settle the issue. Given the unfolding situation, there was a need to maintain a cool head and refrain from any action that could further escalate tensions. There must be full compliance by all stakeholders to all Council statements and resolutions.
The Russian Ambassador called upon all parties to immediately return to dialogue and negotiation, which was the sole way to settle the present issue. He further called for the international community to act in a calm and balanced way, stressing that a comprehensives settlement could be arrived at solely through political and diplomatic means, including by leveraging the mediation offices of the United Nations Secretary-General.
Kazakhstan’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Kairat Umarov, said mutually accepted measures must be taken to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, as a military approach had never led to any sustainable solution of the problem. Possessing nuclear weapons was not an assurance of safety and not a viable security strategy. Instead, a new, bold diplomatic action was required, he said, calling on Pyongyang to consider a non-nuclear future for itself and the Peninsula.
Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, expressed a strong commitment to dealing swiftly with any threat to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and called upon the DPRK to cease its violations of Council resolutions and to refrain from any further provocations.
In response, the Council must assume its responsibility in a unified manner, he said, calling on all stakeholders to work towards a solution to establish a lasting peace between the two Koreas, to break the ongoing vicious cycle of breaching Council resolutions and leading to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. [IDN-InDepthNews – 4 September 2017]
Photo: Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman (right) briefs the Security Council on 4 September 2017 on the latest nuclear test conducted by the DPRK. UN Photo/Evan Schneider
IDN is flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate