ID :
54036
Mon, 04/06/2009 - 07:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/54036
The shortlink copeid
Congressmen call for stern action against N. Korea's rocket launch
WASHINGTON, April 5 (Yonhap) -- Senior U.S. congressmen Sunday called for strong action against North Korea by the U.N. security council for its rocket launch in defiance of a U.N. resolution.
"North Korea's launch of a Taepodong missile is a provocative act that calls for
a stern, unified response from the members of the six party talks on the
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," John Kerry, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. "North Korea's leaders have yet
to realize that the only way for them to achieve genuine security is to abandon
their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction."
Rep. Howard L. Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, demanded
North Korea be subjected to strong action by the 15-member security council.
"Since the launch violates U.N. Security Council resolution 1718, I urge the
Security Council to take strong and concerted action to demonstrate that
Pyongyang's actions are unacceptable," he said in a statement.
He urged China and Russia to join forces in punishing North Korea.
"I especially call on both China and Russia to work constructively with other
members of the Security Council to show that the world is united in condemning
North Korea's disturbing behavior," he said.
China -- North Korea's staunchest communist ally -- and Russia have urged all the
parties concerned to show restraint, in apparent sympathy with North Korea which
says it has the right to send a satellite into space as part of its peaceful
space program.
The U.S. and its allies, however, see the rocket launch as a disguise for a
ballistic missile launch as the same technology is used for lifting either a
satellite or a ballistic missile.
"It is alarming that North Korea carried out this missile launch in direct
defiance of the international community," Berman said. "The test is an
unnecessary provocation that raises tensions in the region, and I urge the North
Koreans to stop using their missile and WMD programs to threaten their neighbors
and the rest of the world."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
"North Korea's launch of a Taepodong missile is a provocative act that calls for
a stern, unified response from the members of the six party talks on the
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," John Kerry, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. "North Korea's leaders have yet
to realize that the only way for them to achieve genuine security is to abandon
their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction."
Rep. Howard L. Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, demanded
North Korea be subjected to strong action by the 15-member security council.
"Since the launch violates U.N. Security Council resolution 1718, I urge the
Security Council to take strong and concerted action to demonstrate that
Pyongyang's actions are unacceptable," he said in a statement.
He urged China and Russia to join forces in punishing North Korea.
"I especially call on both China and Russia to work constructively with other
members of the Security Council to show that the world is united in condemning
North Korea's disturbing behavior," he said.
China -- North Korea's staunchest communist ally -- and Russia have urged all the
parties concerned to show restraint, in apparent sympathy with North Korea which
says it has the right to send a satellite into space as part of its peaceful
space program.
The U.S. and its allies, however, see the rocket launch as a disguise for a
ballistic missile launch as the same technology is used for lifting either a
satellite or a ballistic missile.
"It is alarming that North Korea carried out this missile launch in direct
defiance of the international community," Berman said. "The test is an
unnecessary provocation that raises tensions in the region, and I urge the North
Koreans to stop using their missile and WMD programs to threaten their neighbors
and the rest of the world."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
