ACCESSION NUMBER:349068 FILE ID:POL402 DATE:06/16/94 TITLE:U.S. SEEKS SUPPORT FOR ARMS EMBARGO ON NORTH KOREA (06/16/94) TEXT:*94061602.POL U.S. SEEKS SUPPORT FOR ARMS EMBARGO ON NORTH KOREA (Lynn Davis reviews objectives of proposed sanctions) (690) By Jacquelyn S. Porth USIA Security Affairs Writer Washington -- A senior U.S. official says the United States is seeking support among U.N. Security Council members for an arms embargo on North Korea. Lynn Davis, under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs, told the American Bar Association June 16 that no international enforcement regime would be included in the proposal. Asked about North Korea's assertions that it would view sanctions as an act of war, Davis expressed the hope that the actions to be taken by the international community will convince North Korea "that there is a better route to their safety and security." The arms embargo is part of a five-point plan unveiled by the United States June 15 at the United Nations. Madeleine Albright, U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, described the proposed sanctions as not "an end in themselves but as a tool whereby the international community shows to the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) that it needs an adjustment in...(its) behavior." Davis noted that the declarations made by North Korea concerning its past nuclear activities when it signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are now assumed "to be incorrect," and therefore it was very important that North Korea refuel its five-megawatt experimental nuclear power reactor at Nyongbyon "in the right way." Instead, she said, the reactor was refueled "in ways inconsistent" with what the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had required. IAEA inspectors were prevented from analyzing the 8,000 nuclear rods in the reactor's core to determine if any fuel had been diverted from it. Within the Security Council framework, Davis said, the international community will pursue "the goal of raising the costs to the North Koreans for...not having carried out their obligations consistent" with the NPT. Sanctions ultimately will be "phased in," she said, consistent with the broad goal of bringing the North Koreans back into compliance "with their safeguards obligations." What North Korea has already done with respect to its refueling process, she said, is a "very serious step." It would be even more serious, Davis suggested, if the North Koreans were to ask the two IAEA inspectors to 1eave. Preventing North Korea from becoming a full-fledged nuclear power is linked to the objectives of U.S. non-proliferation policy and ensuring that Northeast Asia remains secure and stable, Davis said. North Korea's "security does not require nuclear weapons," she emphasized. Asked about the possibility of additional reinforcing of U.S. troops in South Korea, Davis said the United States is satisfied with its current level of military preparedness there. Also commenting on South Asia, Davis cited real dangers there because of the nuclear ambitions of India and Pakistan. Characterizing U.S. non-proliferation efforts in that region as "long-term," she said it is important for the United States to show leadership and to facilitate non-proliferation efforts in order to initiate a broad-based security approach in the area. Asked about efforts to draw Russia and China into multilateral arms export control regimes, Davis said the United States hopes to see both nations become active participants of all existing non-proliferation regimes. Russia and many of the other newly independent states of the former Soviet Union are "doing quite well," she said. But she added that because of the problems posed by the Russian Mafia, for example, it is extremely important to give the Russians the tools they urgently need now in order to control exports effectively. China has not yet joined all of the relevant arms control regimes, Davis said, citing in particular the Missile Technology Control Regime. The Chinese must realize, she explained, not only the importance of overall U.S. non-proliferation goals, but also "the value to them" of cooperating on multilateral export regimes. Some technical assistance has been offered to China on export control, Davis said, but she indicated that the Chinese still have "some distance to go" before their system is functioning effectively. NNNN .
