ID :
62350
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 08:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/62350
The shortlink copeid
(News Focus) N. Korea moving fast in timetable of provocative steps
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's second nuclear test came as no surprise to South Korean officials on Monday, but they said the unpredictable communist nation pulled out its trump card earlier than expected.
"North Korea seems to want a speedy game," a senior South Korean government
official handling the nuclear issue said. "It seems to be seeking to create a
condition favorable to itself as early as possible, rather than dragging its
feet."
The North, infuriated by the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of its April 5
rocket launch, announced April 29 that it would conduct a nuclear test unless the
council offers an apology.
South Korean officials and experts agreed that the North's demand was unrealistic
and viewed it as a declaration of its will to take provocative steps again.
Furthermore, North Korea has shown signs that it wants to give an image to the
world as a state that keeps its word. This time, notably, it took less than a
month for the North to put its threat into action. After the North's rocket
launch in April, many watchers said it would require at least a few months to
prepare for an atomic weapons experiment.
After several months of media reports in 2006 based on satellite photo images
showing related preparations, including increased vehicle and human activity,
North Korea detonated a nuclear bomb in an underground test facility near its
northeast coast.
"North Korea appears to have its own timetable to reach a certain goal," the
official said. He declined to specify what the goal is, only saying, "You could
predict it."
North Korea is eager to formally join the club of nuclear states under the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) strongly advocated by U.S. President
Barack Obama. The North is campaigning to become a "powerful and prosperous
nation" by 2012 amid reports that its supreme leader, Kim Jong-il, is preparing
to transfer power to one of his three known sons.
"North Korea apparently hopes to be recognized as a nuclear state so that it can
have nuclear disarmament talks, not negotiations for its denuclearization,"
Dongguk University Professor Kim Yong-hyun said.
The North remembers its political gains from the 2006 test, he added.
The U.N. Security Council issued Resolution 1718 to punish the North's rocket
launch after a week of debate. The test also served as a catalyst for talks with
the Bush administration after almost a year of hiatus.
The North had a three-way meeting with China and the U.S. only three weeks after
the nuclear test and agreed to return to the six-way talks on its nuclear
program.
Experts say the Obama administration, which emphasizes principles, is unlikely to
follow the Bush government's footsteps to make such concessions.
Obama was quick to express his disappointment in the North's latest action.
"North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic
missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security," he
said in a statement. The U.N. council is set to hold an emergency session later
Monday.
The adamant stance shows the continued game of chicken the U.S. plays with North
Korea.
However, it may not be hard to predict the North's next step, given its recent
practice of carrying out its threats.
In the April 29 announcement, the North said it could also pursue the launch of
an intercontinental ballistic missile and its uranium enrichment program.
There is a possibility it will make full-fledged efforts to develop the
technology to arm missiles with nuclear bombs.
In what appears to be an action directed at Japan, the North test-fired a
short-range missile a couple of hours after the nuclear test.
South Korean officials said the six-way talks will likely be kept alive, but the
current stalemate will be protracted.
They expect a replay of debates in the U.N. Security Council over the level of
punishment against Pyongyang for its nuclear test.
In a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, China called for a
calm and cool-headed response.
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's second nuclear test came as no surprise to South Korean officials on Monday, but they said the unpredictable communist nation pulled out its trump card earlier than expected.
"North Korea seems to want a speedy game," a senior South Korean government
official handling the nuclear issue said. "It seems to be seeking to create a
condition favorable to itself as early as possible, rather than dragging its
feet."
The North, infuriated by the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of its April 5
rocket launch, announced April 29 that it would conduct a nuclear test unless the
council offers an apology.
South Korean officials and experts agreed that the North's demand was unrealistic
and viewed it as a declaration of its will to take provocative steps again.
Furthermore, North Korea has shown signs that it wants to give an image to the
world as a state that keeps its word. This time, notably, it took less than a
month for the North to put its threat into action. After the North's rocket
launch in April, many watchers said it would require at least a few months to
prepare for an atomic weapons experiment.
After several months of media reports in 2006 based on satellite photo images
showing related preparations, including increased vehicle and human activity,
North Korea detonated a nuclear bomb in an underground test facility near its
northeast coast.
"North Korea appears to have its own timetable to reach a certain goal," the
official said. He declined to specify what the goal is, only saying, "You could
predict it."
North Korea is eager to formally join the club of nuclear states under the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) strongly advocated by U.S. President
Barack Obama. The North is campaigning to become a "powerful and prosperous
nation" by 2012 amid reports that its supreme leader, Kim Jong-il, is preparing
to transfer power to one of his three known sons.
"North Korea apparently hopes to be recognized as a nuclear state so that it can
have nuclear disarmament talks, not negotiations for its denuclearization,"
Dongguk University Professor Kim Yong-hyun said.
The North remembers its political gains from the 2006 test, he added.
The U.N. Security Council issued Resolution 1718 to punish the North's rocket
launch after a week of debate. The test also served as a catalyst for talks with
the Bush administration after almost a year of hiatus.
The North had a three-way meeting with China and the U.S. only three weeks after
the nuclear test and agreed to return to the six-way talks on its nuclear
program.
Experts say the Obama administration, which emphasizes principles, is unlikely to
follow the Bush government's footsteps to make such concessions.
Obama was quick to express his disappointment in the North's latest action.
"North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic
missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security," he
said in a statement. The U.N. council is set to hold an emergency session later
Monday.
The adamant stance shows the continued game of chicken the U.S. plays with North
Korea.
However, it may not be hard to predict the North's next step, given its recent
practice of carrying out its threats.
In the April 29 announcement, the North said it could also pursue the launch of
an intercontinental ballistic missile and its uranium enrichment program.
There is a possibility it will make full-fledged efforts to develop the
technology to arm missiles with nuclear bombs.
In what appears to be an action directed at Japan, the North test-fired a
short-range missile a couple of hours after the nuclear test.
South Korean officials said the six-way talks will likely be kept alive, but the
current stalemate will be protracted.
They expect a replay of debates in the U.N. Security Council over the level of
punishment against Pyongyang for its nuclear test.
In a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, China called for a
calm and cool-headed response.
