• by Thalif Deen (united nations)
• Friday, June 12, 2009
• Inter Press Service

Despite North Korean charges of political hypocrisy by the United Nations, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Friday tightening sanctions against the Pyongyang regime for its nuclear and missile development programmes.

The 15-member Council not only condemned last month's nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) but also demanded it no longer conduct any nuclear tests or any launch using ballistic missile technology.

'The resolution represents the strong condemnation and the deep concern of the international community to this irresponsible act,' Ambassador Yukio Takasu of Japan told the Council Friday.

U.S. delegate Rosemary Dicarlo said the new measures against the DPRK were 'innovative, robust and unprecedented - and represented new tools to impair North Korea's ability to proliferate.'

For the first time, the resolution also calls upon all member states to inspect, in accordance with local and international law, all cargo to and from the DPRK, in their territory, including seaports and airports.

But the North Koreans hit back at the Security Council, accusing the U.N. body of political hypocrisy and double standards.

Just before the resolution was adopted, a statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry read: 'There is a limit to our patience.'

'The nuclear test conducted in our nation this time is the earth's 2,054th nuclear test. The five permanent members of the Security Council (the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia) have conducted 99.99 percent of the total nuclear tests.'

The online website PolitiFact quoted statistics from the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) which listed some 2,051 nuclear tests worldwide since 1945.

The breakdown for the five permanent members of the Security Council follows: U.S. - 1,030; Russia/USSR - 715; Britain - 45; France - 210; China - 45.

Additionally, there have been a handful of other tests, although no exact numbers are available. These tests were conducted by India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

Carey Sublette of the Nuclear Weapon Archive, which monitors nuclear testing via public records, was quoted as saying: 'So arguably, there have been as many as 13 nuclear tests conducted by countries other than the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.'

And by his count, there have been a total of 2,054 nuclear tests. That means 99.37 percent of all the tests were done by the five permanent members of the Security Council.

The North Koreans were not far off the mark, he added.

Ambassador Takasu said the resolution calls for additional measures to prevent the flow of arms and related materiel, goods as well as financial resources, contributing to programmes relating to weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

This, he said, will be done through arms embargoes, cargo inspections and financial measures.

'We strongly hope that these measures will induce the DPRK to change its course of action and comply with its obligations under relevant decisions of the Security Council,' Takasu told delegates Friday.

'At the same time, I would like to stress that these measures are not intended to harm the innocent people of DPRK,' he added.

Japan and South Korea, which feel threatened by North Korea's nuclear missile programmes, joined the 15 members of the Security Council in drafting the resolution.

The Council spent over a week finalising the draft resolution. However, in an attempt to placate China and Russia, two political and military allies of North Korea, it had to make compromises.

The Chinese delegate Zhang Yesui insisted that the sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate security concerns and development interests of the DPRK be respected.

He said the Council's actions should not adversely impact on the country's development or humanitarian assistance to it.

'As indicated in the text (of the draft resolution), if the country complied with the relevant provisions, the Council would review the appropriateness of suspending or lifting the measures,' he added.

But he warned that the issue of inspecting cargo was 'complex and sensitive', and countries doing so must act prudently and under the precondition of reasonable grounds and sufficient evidence.

More importantly, he cautioned, such inspections should not be done in a manner to exacerbate conflict.

'Under no circumstances should there be use of force or threat of use of force,' he added.

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service