"북한은 세계에서 유일하게 21세기 들어 핵실험을 실시해 국제사회에 정면도전했고, 대량살상무기(WMD)로 안보리 제재(制裁)를 받고 있다!"
주유엔대표부가 5일 북한 핵실험 관련하여 안전보장이사회 이사국들에 강력한 안보리 결의 채택을 촉구하는 입장문을 전달했다.
유엔대표부는 오 준 대사 명의 서한과 함께 별첨 입장 설명자료(non paper)를 통해 북한이 지난 1월6일 4차 핵실험 등 세계에서 유일하게 ▲ 21세기 들어 핵실험을 실시했고 ▲ NPT 체제 내에서 핵 프로그램을 개발하고 NPT 및 IAEA 탈퇴를 선언했으며 ▲ 스스로 핵 보유국임을 헌법을 통해 공식적으로 천명하고 ▲ WMD 관련 유엔 안보리 제재를 받고 있는 국가임을 상기시켰다.
유엔안보리는 지난 6일 북한의 4차 핵실험을 강력 규탄하는 언론성명을 발표하고, 신규 결의를 통한 추가적인 실질적 조치 마련에 즉각 착수했다. 현재까지 110여개 유엔 회원국 및 국제지역 기구가 규탄 성명을 발표한 것으로 나타났다.
북한이 "특히 지난 10여년간 4개의 안보리 제재 결의 채택에 대해 핵실험과 탄도미사일 발사 등 또다른 도발로 응수해 왔다면서 이는 국제 평화와 안전 유지에 1차적 책임을 지는 안보리의 권능을 무시하는 것"이라고 지적했다.
또한 "북한이 스스로 성공적인 '수소폭탄' 시험이었다고 주장한 4차 핵실험을 통해, '원자탄 수소탄 ICBM, SLBM'의 종합 핵능력 구비를 추구하고 있음이 명백해졌고 또다른 안보리 결의의 명백한 위반인 위성'을 가장한 장거리 탄도미사일 발사 계획을 발표한 것은 미주 대륙 등 전 세계 모든 국가를 위협할 수 있는 능력을 추구(追求)하고 있는 것"이라고 강조했다.
유엔대표부는 "북한의 마약 거래, 위폐 제조 등 불법 활동 전례에 비추어, 핵 기술과 물질이 장차 테러단체로 이전될 가능성을 고려할 때 전 세계적 차원의 재앙적 위협이 될 것이고 북한의 노후한 핵시설이 안전과 환경에도 심각한 위험을 야기(惹起)하고 있다"고 경고했다.
이와 함께 "북한은 전 세계에서 유일하게 헌법에 핵보유국임을 명시한 나라로 제네바 군축회의(CD)에서 스스로를 '신생 핵 보유국'이라고 칭한 바 있다. 당․정․군과 같은 국가기구가 직접 외화벌이 활동을 할 뿐만 아니라, 국가 전체가 하나의 거대한 WMD 개발 기구와 같다"며 "북한의 예상을 뛰어넘는 강력하고 실효적인 안보리 제재를 통해 핵개발을 중단시키고, 완전하고 검증가능하며 불가역적인 비핵화를 달성해야 한다"고 촉구했다.
유엔대표부는 "국제사회의 강력한 제재는 북한이 비핵화를 위한 의미있는 6자회담에 복귀하도록 하는 데 기여할 수 있을 것"이라며 "현 상황을 방치할 경우 북한의 5차, 6차 핵실험과 장거리미사일 발사는 계속될 것이며, 유엔과 안보리에 대한 신뢰성은 크게 훼손될 것"이라고 역설했다.
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UNSC’s response to the DPRK’s fourth nuclear test
The DPRK’s latest, fourth nuclear test, conducted on January 6, is a blatant challenge to the international community. Already, the DPRK is the only country in the world which has:
conducted nuclear tests in the twenty-first century;
developed nuclear weapons program within the NPT regime and then announced its withdrawal from both the NPT and the IAEA;
officially declared itself as a “nuclear-armed state” in its constitution; and
been subjected to WMD-related sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council.
Following the DPRK’s fourth nuclear test, the Security Council convened an emergency session and adopted a press statement strongly condemning the DPRK’s nuclear test, and immediately began deliberations for a new resolution imposing further significant measures. So far, more than 110 UN Member States and international/regional organizations have also expressly condemned the DPRK’s latest nuclear test.
The DPRK’s nuclear test is a “clear threat” to international peace and security
The DPRK’s nuclear test is a “clear threat” to international peace and security, as repeatedly confirmed by the Security Council resolutions adopted in the wake of its three previous nuclear tests.
The DPRK has periodically conducted nuclear tests during the past decade, in clear violation of Security Council resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), and 2094 (2013); the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks; international norms such as the NPT; and the IAEA safeguards agreement. Moreover, the DPRK has reacted to previous Security Council resolutions with further provocations, such as additional nuclear tests or launch of ballistic missiles. In this way, the DPRK has shown its contempt and disregard for the functions and powers of the Security Council, which has been bestowed with the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security.
The DPRK’s persistent violations of its international obligations, including Security Council resolutions, call into the question its qualifications as a member of the UN.
The DPRK’s claim that it has successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test is a clear manifestation of its intention to acquire a comprehensive nuclear capability consisting of nuclear and hydrogen bombs, as well as ICBMs and SLBMs. Even as the Security Council is working on a new resolution in response to the DPRK’s nuclear test, the DPRK announced its plan to launch a long-range ballistic missile under the disguise of a so-called “satellite,” which is also in clear violation of the Security Council resolutions. The DPRK has continued to develop its delivery means, aiming for capabilities that can threaten not only the Korean Peninsula, but the entire world, including the American continent.
The Security Council had applied to another country a similar level of sanctions that it has imposed on the DPRK. However, it is evident that the DPRK’s nuclear programs pose a far more direct and imminent threat to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime than the aforementioned case, given the level of advancement acquired through four nuclear tests.
Furthermore, the unpredictability of the DPRK leadership is amplifying the threat to international peace. The DPRK’s public statements and pattern of previous provocations indicate that it has both the capability and the intention to develop and to use its nuclear arsenal.
Moreover, considering the DPRK’s track record of illicit activities, including its manufacture and trade of narcotics and counterfeit currency, the possibility of a transfer of the DPRK’s nuclear technology or material to terrorist organizations in the future cannot be dismissed. Such a transfer would present a disastrous threat to the entire world, beyond the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. From the nuclear safety perspective, the DPRK’s dilapidated nuclear facilities also pose serious safety and environmental risks.
Already, only one week after its fourth nuclear test, the DPRK announced its intention for the further advancement of its nuclear capability and additional nuclear tests. The DPRK’s continued development of its nuclear weapons program will not only seriously impair the credibility of the NPT regime, but could also induce a destabilizing arms race in Northeast Asia. In particular, the prospect of an added nuclear arsenal in Northeast Asia would make this region the most nuclear-armed in the world.
Under instructions from its leader, the DPRK has become a massive machinery for WMD development
The DPRK is the only country in the world with a constitution that stipulates itself as a “nuclear-armed state”, and claimed at the Conference on Disarmament that it is the “youngest nuclear weapons state.” It is taking flagrant steps to turn these words into action, as demonstrated by the broadcast of its leader signing the order for the latest nuclear test.
The entire state apparatus of the DPRK – including the party, the government, and the military – is directly engaged in hard-currency-earning activities, and is functioning as a giant WMD development machinery. Furthermore, the DPRK’s diplomats have also been known to abuse their privileges under the Vienna Convention, including the use of the diplomatic pouch, in order to collect and remit funds for WMD development. The DPRK, one of the weakest economies in the world, is diverting its scarce resources to WMD development while ignoring the plight of its people.
SC sanctions should exceed and confound the DPRK’s expectations
Security Council Resolution 2094 (2013) expresses the Council’s determination to take “further significant measures” in the event of a further DPRK provocation. As such, the most urgent task at hand is to adopt the most robust and comprehensive Security Council resolution in order to deter the DPRK’s nuclear weapons development and further achieve its complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization.
Given that the DPRK has developed its nuclear programs even under existing Security Council sanctions, it is clear that just a piecemeal strengthening of previous sanctions will not put a brake on the DPRK’s nuclear weapons development. The DPRK’s decision to conduct the latest nuclear test must have anticipated the usual reaction from the international community. Therefore, the Security Council, through its tough and effective sanctions that exceed the DPRK’s aforementioned anticipations, must make clear to the DPRK that it will no longer tolerate its nuclear weapons development. In addition, all resolutions, once adopted, must be fully and thoroughly implemented.
Robust international sanctions will be conducive to pressing the DPRK to return to meaningful Six-Party Talks for its denuclearization. As previous Security Council sanctions resolutions have fallen short of changing the DPRK’s behavior, the DPRK leadership must be pressed harder this time to change its own calculus and to give up its nuclear ambitions.
Otherwise, the DPRK will most likely conduct additional nuclear tests or long-range missile launches, thereby severely damaging the credibility of the Security Council and the UN.
Extraordinary threat requires an extraordinary response
The current situation, if left unchecked, may lead to the world facing an unimaginable threat to peace and stability due to the DPRK’s nuclear blackmail with its expanded arsenal. Now is the time for the Security Council to take decisive action, as the organ bestowed with the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security. The Security Council cannot afford to make the mistake of adopting a weak resolution and let the DPRK’s leadership make a mockery of the Council by continuing to develop its nuclear weapons program. This is an extraordinary threat that requires an extraordinary response.
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