Japan Press Weekly

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2016 November 30 - December 6 [POLITICS]

Japan needs to utilize fresh UN sanctions against North Korea to reboot Six-Party Talks

Akahata editorial

The UN Security Council on November 30 unanimously adopted Resolution 2321 to impose fresh economic sanctions on North Korea, condemning the country’s 5th nuclear test in September and repeated ballistic missile launches. The international community needs to strictly implement full sanctions to pressure the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to abandon its nuclear weapons and missile development program, which is a clear threat to peace and stability in the world.

Don’t fuel military confrontation

Resolution 2321 is aimed at preventing North Korea from obtaining funds for its weapons development. It will put an upper limit on the country’s coal exports, the major source of foreign currencies. In order to enforce this measure, the resolution requires buyer countries to report every month the amount of coal imports from the country to the relevant UNSC Sanctions Committee. The latest UNSC resolution imposes an embargo on copper, nickel, and other metals, and restricts the number of bank accounts that North Korea’s overseas diplomatic establishments can have. The adopted sanctions also include the invalidation of registrations for North Korean ships and a ban on providing ships to the country.

While the UNSC expresses the need to avoid causing adverse impacts on people’s livelihoods, the civilian economy, and humanitarian aid efforts in the DPRK, the adopted sanction package is much tougher than that in the March resolution. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a concerted action among the international community by saying, “It is incumbent on all Member States of the United Nations to make every effort to ensure that these sanctions are fully implemented.”

The latest resolution underscores the need to resume the Six-Party Talks composed of North Korea, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States. In discussions prior to the adoption of the resolution, the representative of Spain emphasized that sanctions are not the objective. Other council members argued that North Korea’s nuclear weapons issue should be resolved by diplomatic and political means through pressuring the country to abide by previous UNSC resolutions and the 2005 joint declaration of the Six-Party Talks.

Chinese and Russian representatives expressed concern over U.S.-led military training exercises and the building of missile defense facilities on the Korean Peninsula as these could further intensify tensions. This is why the resolution “stresses the importance of working to reduce tensions”.

The DPRK, in the meantime, has been demanding negotiations to reach “a peace accord” with the United States. However, at the same time, it has been reluctant to resume the Six-Party Talks while implying that it already possesses nuclear weapons. In order to resume the six-way negotiations, all the relevant countries, including the U.S. where a new administration will soon be inaugurated, should step up their efforts to persuade North Korea to sit at the negotiating table again.

In dealing with the North Korean nuclear arms/missile development programs, it is essential for the international community to work on concrete actions to bring about “a world without nuclear weapons” in parallel with sticking firm to a commitment to work for a peaceful resolution of the issue through dialogue.

From viewpoint of achieving nuclear weapons-free world

Out of the UNSC members, some nations have been taking the lead in promoting the initiation of international negotiations on a Nuclear Weapons Convention. Egypt has been one of such countries. In the SC discussion, an Egyptian representative emphasized the urgency of dismantling all nuclear arsenals from the face of the earth. Only by doing this can the international community stop North Korea from making any excuses for its nuclear weapons development program and pressure the country harder to give up its nuclear ambition.

In implementing the latest UN resolution, a New Zealand representative stated that comprehensive and coordinated actions will be the strongest signal to the DPRK that the international community will never allow nuclear proliferation or any violations of international obligations.

Japan has a special responsibility to work for nuclear disarmament as the only atomic-bombed state in the world. It also has the 2002 Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration which aims to achieve a comprehensive resolution of such issues as nuclear weapons, missiles, the abduction of Japanese citizens, and settlement of historical questions. This document can form the basis leading to the restart of the Six-Party Talks. Therefore, the government of Japan should be committed to engage in the diplomatic arena to peacefully resolve North Korea’s nuclear weapons issue.