N Korea snubs world, goes nuke

HONG KONG: North Korea muscled its way into the club of nuclear powers on Monday by testing a nuclear device in defiance of the international community’s threats of sanctions.

 

The United Nations swiftly and severely reproached Pyongyang. US President George Bush, though quick as the UN to issue harsh rebuke — denouncing the test as provocative, unacceptable, and a threat to global peace and security — hinted that he is not contemplating military action. “The United States remains committed to diplomacy,” he said.

 

The UN Security Council, which had last week urged North Korea not to carry out a test and warned it of unspecified consequences if it did, convened a close-door session later on Monday. Kenzo Oshima, Japan’s UN envoy and the council president for October, exhorted North Korea in a statement “to refrain from further testing”, and to resume participation in the six-nation disarmament talks. In the emergency meeting, John Bolton, US ambassador to the UN, presented draft elements of a proposed resolution calling for tough economic and technology sanctions.

 

Some in the international community are worried about the prospects of what a desperately poor country, with a record of irresponsible conduct, would do when sanctions are imposed. That concern is compounded by North Korea’s newly acquired nuclear-power status.

 

The sanctions may hit North Korea hard. The country has a per-capita GDP of $1,700 (against South Korea’s $20,400), and millions of people are believed to have died of starvation over the past decade. The Communist country is ruled by Kim Jong Il, who succeeded his father King Il Sung following his death in 1994.

 

This is the most recent episode featuring Kim as a belligerent WMD enthusiast. In 2002, Bush had accused North Korea of developing a secret nuclear weapons programme in violation of an earlier agreement. 

 

That year, Bush had famously identified North Korea as being a part of an “axis of evil”, along with Iraq and Iran.

 

Monday’s test makes removal of the branding even more unlikely. Pyongyang’s announcement of a successful underground test at 10:35am local time (7:05am IST) was met with a chorus of condemnation from around the world. The deplorers included North Korea’s closest ally, China, and its neighbours Japan and South Korea, which are just a missile strike away.

 

The test has refocused global attention on proliferation concerns at a time when the Security Council is grappling with the Iranian nuclear crisis. North Korea is the only signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to have walked away from its obligations. There are concerns that North Korea’s move will open the door to more nuclear tests by other powers. There were unconfirmed reports that Pyongyang was preparing for a second test.

 

Monday’s test, which came when Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was beginning a tour of South Korea, also escalated tensions in the North Asian region. South Korea put its troops on heightened alert. There are concerns that the test could provoke nationalistic sentiments in Japan, where the right wing has been pushing for a more militaristic - and perhaps nuclear -- agenda.

 

The test unnerved stock markets in East Asia, and pushed up the dollar. Oil prices, which have been in retreat in recent weeks, scrambled above $60 a barrel.