U.N. Expected To Vote on North Korea Resolution October 14
13 October 2006
Secretary Rice to visit Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing to discuss implementation
Washington -- Following the anticipated passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to East Asia, with stops in Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, South Korea, October 17-22, the State Department announced October 13.
Spokesman Sean McCormack said Rice expects to discuss how to implement what he described as "an extraordinarily strong" resolution condemning North Korea for its claim to have tested a nuclear weapon on October 9 and directing mandatory action from U.N. member states.
Rice also will be taking the opportunity to "reaffirm and talk about the strength of our existing alliances there, and also to have a bit more of a wider conversation with others in the region about the current situation, about the security situation, and also to talk broadly about nonproliferation efforts," McCormack said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said in New York that he expected the Security Council to vote on the resolution the morning of October 14.
"There may be some additional changes to the text between now … before we vote tomorrow. But we do have agreement -- unanimous agreement -- we're going to follow that schedule," he said.
He said the anticipated resolution essentially would codify the Proliferation Security Initiative, which would allow the international community to inspect all air, land and sea cargo crossing North Korea's borders for banned weapons and weapons technology. (See fact sheet.)
McCormack said the resolution is an "unexpected response" from the international community, including all five permanent members of the Security Council "speaking with one voice."
"[E]ven with some minor changes to it, this is an extraordinary resolution. This is one of the toughest, strongest resolutions that the Security Council has ever produced, I think," he said.
McCormack also expressed hope that the passage of a Chapter 7 resolution "with quite robust actions" that U.N. member states will be required to enforce may help change the North Korean government's calculations and encourage it to return to multilateral talks and its commitments under the September 19, 2005, agreement. (See related article.)
He said the Six-Party Talks involving North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States "is still a viable pathway, [and] is a viable mechanism" available to North Korea "should they have a change of heart."
Asked about doubts as to whether North Korea indeed tested a nuclear weapon on October 9, McCormack said "the jury is out on what, exactly, happened," and U.S. intelligence analysts have not come to a conclusion on what took place.
"We know that there was an event. There was a seismic event. Something happened in that particular spot in North Korea. And we're in the process now of going through, looking through all the data and all the facts to try to come up with the best possible explanation for what, exactly, happened there," he said.
However, he said "at the very least" the North Korean government was "trying to tell the rest of the world and make a political statement … and claim that they have tested a nuclear device."
"[G]iven what we already suspect and know about North Korea's nuclear program, as well as the nature of this regime, … [it] constitutes a threat," he said.
The transcripts of Ambassador Bolton’s remarks and spokesman McCormack’s briefing are available on the State Department’s Web site.
For more information on U.S. policy, see The U.S. and the Korean Peninsula and Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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