Asean urged to have stronger voice vs NoKor

SEOUL – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should have a stronger voice in pressing for North Korea’s denuclearization, according to a South Korean diplomat. 

“ASEAN must have (the) responsibility to stop proliferation of nuclear weapons within its region. Many nations are joining calls for North Korea to stop (nuclear program) but we should let them know about it,” Ryu Jeong-hyun, director general of the South Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), said.

During the ASEAN - Republic of Korea (ROK) media exchange program here last week, Ryu also said there must be heavier sanctions against North Korea to effectively deter its nuclear threat.

Last September, ASEAN members reaffirmed their commitment against nuclear proliferation and jointly urged Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear project during the East Asia Summit on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Power in Laos.

The Philippines was among the first countries to condemn North Korea’s missile launch and nuclear testing this year.

The government stressed that the submarine launch of a ballistic missile last Aug. 24, a day after the United States and South Korea began their annual military exercises, seriously undermined regional peace and stability in the Korean peninsula.

Ryu said existing sanctions imposed by the international community might not suffice to force the leadership of Kim Jong-un to abandon its nuclear offense program.

“There has been no sanction yet that was effective in pushing North Korea to the wall to stop its nuclear program. We need stronger sanctions to be effective,” Ryu said.

Ryu warned that the threats of nuclear armaments of North Korea were not limited to the Korean peninsula and Japan.

“The security concerns in the Korean peninsula is also a concern for the South East Asian nations because of our proximity,” he explained.

Ryu cited as proof the earlier ballistic missile test conducted by North Korea where missile fragments reached the high seas near Philippine territory.

Lee Sang -hyun, vice president for research planning of the Sejong Institute, also expressed belief stronger sanctions should be imposed on the current North Korean leadership to ensure that they curb their nuclear program.

Sejong Institute was established in 1986 to study North Korea.

“There have been repeated sanctions imposed on North Korea. But after imposition, there is always resurgence of dialogues that eventually failed. We didn’t have strong, effective sanctions yet,” he stressed.

He cited loopholes in the United Nations sanctions such as the discretionary nature of the cargo inspection, exemption on livelihood-related trade products and humanitarian assistance.

Lee revealed that North Korea currently has 10 to 20 nuclear weapons and had mastered production of miniature warheads.

But he said Pyongyang would continue to conduct more tests in future to confirm its nuclear capability as it had not perfected re-entry technology yet.