[imText1]NEW YORK, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) — The U.N. Security Council on Monday strongly condemned North Korea’s announcement of its first-ever nuclear test as a brazen defiance of a UN resolution and vowed to enact a “strong and swift” response.
Members of the UNSC also demanded during an emergency meeting that the communist state return to the six-party talks on its nuclear weapons program, according to Japan’s U.N. Ambassador Kenzo Oshima, who is now serving as the president of the council.
The Security Council will discuss “appropriate measures” to respond to the test, which was a threat to international peace and security, Oshima said, after the first round of the consultation.
He said experts from the 15-member council will meet on Monday afternoon to discuss a draft resolution circulated by the United States.
Diplomatic sources here said it would take two to three days for the council to adopt a resolution on the North’s nuclear tests.
John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told reporters, “We will be seeking a resolution under Chapter 7 of the United Nations charter,” which allows for the use of armed forces.
“We’re looking for very swift action by the Security Council. We think it’s important to respond even to the claim of a nuclear test by the North Koreans and we’ll be going 24/7 if we need to be to get this resolution adopted quickly.”
Bolton proposed that the council adopt a resolution calling for, among other things, expanding financial sanctions and restricting trade with North Korea particularly in goods related to the development of weapons of mass destruction, according to council sources.
Bolton was also quoted as saying the United States regards North Korea’s attacks on South Korea and Japan as those on the U.S. mainland.
The UNSC resolution, if passed, would clear the way for international economic sanctions as well as military options under the world body.
In July, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution imposing limited sanctions on the North after it defiantly conducted multiple missiles tests. The resolution, however, did not include Chapter 7 as an option due to opposition by China and South Korea.
North Korea remained defiant, as its U.N. ambassador, Pak Gil-yon, said council members should “congratulate” Pyongyang for its nuclear test, rather than passing a “notorious, useless and rigorous resolution.”
“It will be better for the Security Council of the United Nations to congratulate the DPRK scientists and researchers instead of doing such notorious, useless and rigorous resolutions or whatever,” Pak said. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name. Asked whether the North would pursue more nuclear tests, Pak said, “That will be enough. You don’t think so?”
Before the council opened, British and French ambassadors said the U.N. council should pass a resolution under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.
“The council has warned North Korea last week, so the council has to be up to its responsibility,” France’s U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said.
Britain’s U.N. Ambassador, Emyr Jones-Parry, said that, “I think it follows that action under Chapter 7 is what is appropriate. We’ll have to look at what sort of measures can be agreed by the council, but certainly the United Kingdom would support proposals put down to that effect.”
The North’s nuclear test prompted international condemnation, with even China, the North’s main aid donor, expressing its “resolute opposition” to what it calls the North’s “brazen” activities.
U.S. President George W. Bush labeled the nuclear test “unacceptable,” saying that it “deserves an immediate response” by the U.N. Security Council.
The nuclear test, reportedly performed in the country’s most northeastern province on Monday morning, caught many by surprise, as it came only six days after the North announced it would detonate a device. Many North Korea watchers had expected the North to wait several months before going through with the test, with some suggesting it was just a bluff.
Experts say the North’s test was largely aimed at bolstering its position in the drawn-out global standoff over its nuclear weapons program, amid reports that the U.S. and other countries were moving to impose additional sanctions on it.
The U.S. slapped the North with economic sanctions last year, accusing the reclusive country of counterfeiting American dollars and committing other financial crimes.
North Korea has long proposed direct talks with the U.S. to discuss its nuclear and missile programs, but Washington has rejected it, saying it would only meet one-on-one with the North within the framework of the stalled six-nation talks.
North Korea has spurned the multilateral nuclear talks — involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan — in protest against the U.S.-imposed sanctions.
