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
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