Russia Agrees to Submit North Korean Nuclear Issue to UN Security Council If Pyongyang Conducts Nuclear Experiment

After North Korea revealed that it extracted used fuel-rods from the Yongbyun reactor on May 11, the members of the six-party talks, including the United States, China, and Korea, have different opinions, ranging from hard-line to moderate.

Concerning the issue of submitting the North Korea nuclear crisis to the UN Security Council if the North conducts a nuclear experiment, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar stated that day that “President George W. Bush feels that Russia thinks constructively.”

Senate Lugar (Rep) met with President Bush at the White House that day and said, “President Bush thinks that China is similarly constructive as well.”

It is the first time that a high-profile American official has stated publicly that the Chinese government has had a “positive” opinion on submitting the North Korea nuclear issue to the Security Council.

Nonetheless, regarding Pyongyang’s declaration, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan said yesterday that “[I] read such a report and the international community is paying attention. Yet, there are encouraging signs for the resumption of the six-party talks.”

On the issue of whether to apply sanctions on North Korea, such as submitting the nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, he elucidated that he was opposed to it, saying, “The principle of Chinese diplomacy is to disapprove of pressure and more than disapprove of sanctions. Pressure and sanctions only make the problem more complex.”

At a current topics program of SBS Radio that day, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said, “There has not been a consultation among the relevant parties on whether to submit the issue to the Security Council. Our position is that we can seek other solutions only after we have found no resolution despite the exhaustion of diplomatic endeavors.”

Regarding the possibility that the U.S. may launch a preemptive strike against North Korea, Minister Ban stated, “It would be impossible without a prior agreement between the parties interested like Korea and the U.S. There is no need to worry about it.”

On May 11, the South Korean government held a standing committee meeting of the NSC and discussed countermeasures against North Korea’s announcement that it extracted used fuel-rods.

Although it feels that Pyongyang’s move is very worrisome, the Korean government decided to cope with it with poise, for it judged that the move could be a pressure strategy by the North to try to get an advantage in the negotiations.