SEOUL, 18 October 2006 — North Korea warned yesterday that UN sanctions over its nuclear test were a declaration of war, while Japan and South Korea said the communist nation appeared to be readying for a second atomic blast. US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill told reporters in Seoul that another nuclear test would be “a very belligerent answer” to the world.
Hill said the isolated North was falsely assuming it would win more respect with atomic explosions. “The fact of the matter is that nuclear tests make us respect them less,” he said, adding that the North’s latest comments about the sanctions were “not very helpful.”
The verbal volley came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left for Japan, South Korea, China and Russia on a tour to discuss how to enforce the UN sanctions against the North, approved Saturday.
The White House said yesterday that it wouldn’t be surprising if North Korea were to try another nuclear test “to be provocative.”
“It would not be a good thing for them, but it certainly would not be out of character,” said White House press secretary Tony Snow. “We’re not going to discuss any particular matters of intelligence, but if you take a look at the record, I think it is reasonable to expect that the government of North Korea will do what it can to test the will, the determination and the unity of the United Nations.”
North Korea slammed the UN measures with a stream of bellicosity in a Foreign Ministry statement released on the official Korean Central News Agency. It was the central government’s first reaction to the sanctions since they were unanimously passed by the UN Security Council.
“The resolution cannot be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war” against the North, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the statement said.
The North also warned it “wants peace but is not afraid of war,” and that it would “deal merciless blows” against anyone who violates its sovereignty. It said it wouldn’t cave in to “the pressure and threat of someone at this time when it has become a nuclear weapons state.” South Korean nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo said the North’s reaction wasn’t surprising, and was full of “the usual rhetoric.”
Hill said he wanted to talk to South Korean officials about unspecified reports from Seoul that the North was preparing for a second nuclear test. Japan’s government also had “information” about another possible blast, Foreign Minister Taro Aso told reporters, without elaborating.
But a senior South Korean official told foreign journalists that despite signs of a possible second test, it was unlikely to happen immediately. “We have yet to confirm any imminent signs of a second nuclear test,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
China, the North’s longtime ally and biggest trading partner, warned Pyongyang against aggravating tensions. “We hope North Korea will adopt a responsible attitude... and come back to resolving the issue through dialogue and consultation instead of taking any actions that may further escalate or worsen the situation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
The sanctions include a call to inspect cargo on ships sailing to and from North Korea. But China and Russia contend that interdicting vessels might needlessly provoke the North. Liu wouldn’t directly comment on why China refuses to board ships but insisted that “the Chinese side has always implemented Security Council measures seriously and in a responsible manner.”
“This time is no exception,” Liu said.
South Korea has said it would fully comply with the UN sanctions resolution. Seoul has also indicated that it has no intention of halting key economic projects with the North, despite concerns that they may help fund the North’s nuclear and missile programs.
US President George W. Bush met yesterday with UN Secretary-General-designate Ban Ki-moon, now South Korea’s foreign minister, discussing North Korea’s nuclear test and efforts to enforce UN sanctions against Pyongyang.
Bush told Ban, who will take over as head of the world body on Jan. 1, of “his determination not to let (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Il threaten peace in the region,” said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
