U.S. still optimistic on strong UNSC response to rocket launch

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, April 9 (Yonhap) -- The United States said Thursday that it is still
optimistic about coming up with strong United Nations response to North Korea's
rocket launch despite reluctance by China and Russia.
The remarks by State Department spokesman Robert Wood come as North Korea's new
Supreme People's Assembly reelected Kim Jong-il its paramount leader, chairman of
the all-powerful National Defense Commission, in its first session of a five-year
term earlier in the day.
The North Korean parliament's re-endorsement ended rumors that Kim's grip on
state affairs was loosening after he apparently suffered a stroke last summer.
Wood told a daily news briefing that he was "very optimistic, hopeful that we
will be able to come up with that strong and effective response."
Wood, however, said he had not heard about a United Nations Security Council
meeting scheduled for Thursday to discuss possible sanctions on North Korea.
"But there could very well be," he said. "This, as I said, is a very serious
diplomatic issue, so you shouldn't be surprised that there may be a meeting like
that."
The Security Council last met Monday, when the five permanent council members
failed to reach a consensus on how to deal with the North's launch of a rocket
purportedly to send a communications satellite into space. The U.S. and its
allies saw it as a ballistic missile test in violation of U.N. rules.
Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted in 2006 after North Korea's ballistic
missile and nuclear tests, bans the North from engaging in any ballistic missile
and nuclear activity, although sanctions have been neglected due to a clause
making implementation voluntary.
The Chinese and Russian ambassadors have been sympathetic to North Korea's claim
to a right to space development, urging those involved to show restraint, to
refrain from escalating tensions and focus on reviving six-party talks on North
Korea's nuclear dismantlement.
"We're still engaged in consultations to try to come up with a strong and
effective response. I do know that these types of discussions on issues of such
importance do take time," Wood said. "It's not going to be easy. There are some
differences of opinion on how we deal with this question."
Reports said that the U.S. and its allies may have to settle for a chairman's
statement or press release expressing regret over North Korea's rocket launch and
calling for stronger implementation of existing sanctions.
If the Security Council takes punitive steps, North Korea has threatened to scrap
the six-party talks, stalled over how to verify its past and current nuclear
activity, and hinted at conducting a second nuclear test.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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