(EDS: UPDATING WITH CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT)
By Miya Tanaka and Puy Kea
PHUKET, Thailand, July 23 Kyodo
North Korea blamed Washington for the current standoff over its nuclear program during an annual regional security dialogue on Thursday, defying calls from the United States, Japan and other countries for it to return to the stalled six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing Pyongyang, officials who attended the gathering said.
North Korea explained its position at an international gathering attended by officials from all six countries involved in the nuclear talks for the first time since its second nuclear test in May.
In apparent protest at international pressure over its recent nuclear test and missile launches, North Korea did not send its foreign minister, Pak Ui Chun, and instead sent an ambassador-level official.
Adding further pressure, the chair's statement issued on the ASEAN Regional Forum said the ministers of several countries ''condemned the recent nuclear test and missile launches'' by North Korea and ''strongly urged'' all U.N. members to ''commit themselves to fully implement'' a new U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution adopted in response to the nuclear test.
But North Korea ''totally rejected'' the resolution and told the meeting that ''the ongoing aggravated situation on the Korean Peninsula is the product of the hostile policy of the United States'' against the country and ''stated that the six-party talks have already come to an end,'' the statement said.
The six-party talks involve North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone told reporters later that North Korea's remarks ''were far apart from the awareness of the international society.'' ''The atmosphere of the venue indicated that North Korea cannot win support from other countries with this kind (of position),'' he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a separate news conference criticized such arguments by North Korea and said that the country has ''no friends left'' to protect it from moves toward its denuclearization.
As for incentives for North Korea to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, Clinton said at the forum that the United States will promise a peace treaty, the restoration of good relations at the six-party talks and the development of peace on the peninsula, according to senior sources who attended the gathering.
The 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum wrapped up a series of meetings involving the 10-member ASEAN and its dialogue partners, as well as other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The ARF is the only regional security dialogue forum usually attended by North Korea's foreign minister, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. It was established in 1994 to promote dialogue and cooperation on regional security issues and North Korea became a member in 2000.
Participants in the gathering also discussed the issue of Myanmar, where pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi remains detained, and many expressed hope over progress on democratization, according to Japanese Foreign Ministry official.
While encouraging the military government for free and fair elections in 2010, the foreign ministers called on the government to ''release all those in detention,'' including Suu Kyi with a view to enabling them to participate in the elections, the chairman's statement said. Meanwhile, the ARF adopted a statement outlining the forum's vision through 2020, the Japanese official said.
Under the ''Vision Statement,'' the forum, in order to achieve its goal of enhancing the regional security environment, reaffirmed its three-step evolutionary approach -- starting with the promotion of confidence building and moving toward preventive diplomacy before eventually developing conflict-resolution mechanisms.
How to cooperate in dealing with large-scale disasters was also an important issue that was discussed in the forum, given the cyclone devastation in Myanmar and the deadly earthquake in China's Sichuan province, both of which occurred last year.
Indonesia expressed its willingness to host an ARF disaster exercise and Japan offered to cooperate on co-hosting the event, the official said. The first such Voluntary Demonstration of Response was held in the Philippines in May during which more than 500 personnel participated.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. They form the ARF together with Australia, Canada, China, Japan, India, North Korea, South Korea, Russia, the United States, the European Union and others.
Kyodo
0 comments:
Post a Comment