US - North Korea
Secretary Clinton Says North Korea’s Actions Will Bring Consequences
By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer
May 27, 2009
Washington — The United States is working with the international community at the United Nations and in national capitals across the globe to determine the consequences that North Korea will face based on its latest behavior, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.
“There are consequences to such actions,” Clinton said in a joint press briefing at the State Department May 27.
North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion May 25 (9 p.m. EDT May 24), and also test-fired three short-range, ground-to-air and ground-to-ship ballistic missiles. On May 26, North Korea test-fired two more short-range missiles from its east coast missile test facility.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea’s nuclear test May 25, including strong objections from Pyongyang’s traditional allies China and Russia, according to U.S. officials.
Clinton said North Korea chose to violate the terms of a U.N. Security Council resolution that forbids the country from developing, manufacturing and testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and the North Korean regime has to understand that there will be an international response. She said United Nations discussions are being held on what type of consequences North Korea will face.
North Korea has “ignored the international community,” Clinton said. “It has abrogated the obligations it entered into through the Six-Party Talks. And it continues to act in a provocative and belligerent manner toward its neighbors.” The Six-Party Talks — which are led by China and include North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States — are intended to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons development program. The talks stalled late last year.
North Korea threatened military action against U.S. and South Korean naval ships if they attempted to search vessels under provisions of the Proliferation Security Initiative, which allows searches of vessels that might be carrying weapons of mass destruction or the materials to make them. North Korea also threatened to nullify the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War.
After North Korea’s May 25 nuclear test, South Korea announced it was joining the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, a global interdiction program designed primarily to prevent weapons of mass destruction from being transported to terrorist groups by ships or planes.
Clinton said any action by the international community is intended to get the North Korean regime to return to “a framework where they are once again fulfilling their obligations and moving toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said at his daily press briefing May 27 that North Korea’s actions only serve to deepen its isolation from the international community. “Threats won’t get North Korea the attention it craves,” Gibbs said. “I think their actions would be better focused on living up to their rights and obligations.”
The United States, Clinton said, will honor its obligations for the defense of South Korea and Japan.
Ambassador Susan Rice, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, said late May 26 that the Security Council has been holding “very serious, concrete talks” on North Korea and is working out the details of a new resolution.
“We share a common set of objectives, which are to convey very clearly and unequivocally that the actions by North Korea run counter to the interest of regional peace and security, violate international law, and need to be dealt with directly and seriously,” she said.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test October 9, 2006. As a consequence, the U.N. Security Council passed Security Council Resolution 1718, which forbids North Korea from testing missiles and nuclear weapons.