"Objection to the Reference of Korean Nuclear Experiments to the UNSC"

It was confirmed that the U.S. government instructed the U.S. delegate to object to the reference of the Korean nuclear experiment issue to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) before the opening of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board meeting at Vienna, Austria, on November 25

An anonymous related person of the U.S. government communicated via telephone on November 25 that the U.S. conveyed ‘Final instructions’ containing the position of the U.S. to the U.S. delegate.

In the instructions to the delegate, the U.S. government stated the Korean government’s active cooperation in the inspection and objected to the reference of the Korean nuclear experiment to the UNSC and clearly instructed its delegation to oppose the proposal even if the other countries of the board propose deferring the decision of the reference to the UNSC for the next board meeting.

A related person of the U.S. government who has been in charge of the Korean nuclear experiment issue said, “The U.S. has decided to settle the Korean issue at an ‘IAEA level’. It is anticipated that Japan and China will also be of the same opinion,” suggesting that the U.S. has also persuaded Japan and China.

Also, according to the U.S. delegate report from Vienna sent to Washington on November 25, it was foreseen that even the few countries maintaining that it should be decided at the next board meeting whether the Korean issue should be referred to the UNSC or not, will no longer stand their ground.

Related to this, Choi Young-jin, vice-minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and currently in the last round of a diplomatic war in Vienna, conveyed the atmosphere, saying, “A majority of the countries that at first asserted that it should be referred to UNSC or defer the decision to the next board meeting are inclining to Korea’s position of tying the knot at this meeting for the moment.”

However the related person of the U.S. government added, “There is the possibility of this becoming a different story if a surprise variable occurs during the board meeting.”

Jung-Ahn Kim Dong-Keun Keum credo@donga.com gold@donga.com