Text fwd: [From India] NORTH KOREA’S NUCLEAR BLAST

NORTH KOREA’S NUCLEAR BLAST
BY J.NARAYANA RAO
GENERAL SECRETARY ALL INDIA PEACE & SOLIDARITY ORGANISATION
MAHARASHTRA STATE COMMITTEE, NAGPUR

On 25 May 2009 North Korea conducted the Second Nuclear Test after the first which was conducted on October 9, 2006. A howl of condemnation mostly from those countries which are clinging to Nuclear weapons is being trumpeted. President Barack Obama of US says that “North Korea’s Nuclear and Ballistic Missile programmes pose a grave threat to the peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action’.

What ever may be the circumstances which forced North Korea to conduct this test including to defend itself , at this juncture the action of North Korea cannot be appreciated. US never reconciled l to the existence of North Korea. But for the support it got from the former USSR and China and the third world countries North Korea must have been obliterated from the face of the earth by US long back. US is the main obstacle for the unification of Korea. People of both the Koreas ardently desire for the unification. US is is still maintaining more than 35,000 soldiers in South Korea after the Armstic Agreement. North Korea ever since it came into existence is living under constant fear of being invaded by US. While South Korea made tremendous economic progress North Korea is diverting all it’s resources for defence.

The Nuclear Nations are united in not only damning North Korea but also bent upon some action against it using the United Nations Security Council. The Nuclear Nations, US, Russia, China, France, UK, India, Pakistan and Israel have no moral authority to condemn North Korea. They are sinners who are keeping Nuclear Weapons against several UN Resolutions including the NPT. Only the Non-Nuclear Nations and the International Peace Movements alone can express anguish against North Korea’s Nuclear Test.

NPT came into existence more than 41 years ago in the year 1968. Article VI of the NPT states that “Each of the Parties to the Treaty under takes to pursue negotiations in good faith on affective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament ,and a on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control’.

In every NPT Review Conference the US was the obstacle for any progress in implementation of the NPT. US has not ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty(CTBT). US never spoke against Israel acquiring Nuclear Weapons . If countries like India and Pakistan feel that they the have ground for possessing Nuclear Weapons and the UNO Security Council is not discomforted with these countries possessing Nuclear Weapons why can’t North Korea or any other country cannot have Nuclear Weapons.

US basing on it’s hegemonic behavior, while not doing any thing to abolish Nuclear Weapons and work for an international treaty to disarm the existing countries which are in possession of Nuclear Weapons, it always harps on countries like North Korea, Iran should’t test any Nuclear Weapons. It is interesting to note what the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission headed by Hans Blix in it’s report submitted to the UN General Secretary in June 2006 states that “some current setbacks in treaty based arms control and disarmament can be traced to a pattern in US policy that is called some ‘selective multilataralism’ an increased sceptism regarding the affectiveness of international institutions and instruments coupled with a drive for freedom of action to maintain an absolute global superiority in weaponary and means of their delivery”.

This statement from such a high power committee is an indictment of the attitude of the US in not agreeing to abolish Nuclear Weapons.

When the issue of the illegality and the threat or use of Nuclear Weapons was before the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion as sought by the UN General Assembly the Court unanimously expressed that “There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nulclear disarment in all its aspects under strict and effective international control”. At that time Before the International Court of Justice the US justified use of Nuclear Weapons when it stated that “The United States has long taken the position that various principles of International Law of armed conflict would apply to the use of Nuclear Weapons as well as to other means and methods of war fare . This in no way means ,however, that the use of nuclear weapons is precluded by the law of war”.

This justification of US for the use of Nuclear Weapons applies not only for US itself but also for all countries . US is the only country to use Nuclear Weapons, and conducted the highest number of tests. Therefore there is no justification for howling against the Nuclear Test by North Korea.

Notwithstanding to the fact that nothing prevents North Korea conducting a Nuclear Test while other countries doing the same including India and Pakistan, the question is whether to defend and protect 20,000,000 of it’s people does North Korea needs Nuclear Weapons. There are many countries ruled by Communist Parties like Vietnam,Cuba etc are able to survive and achieve economic progress without Nuclear Weapons. Almost the entire continent of Latin America is opting for socialism by electing leaders committed to socialism. Do these countries which always attract US wrath should opt for Nuclear Tests.

Thanks to the p0licy of militarization, the economic development of North Korea is lymping. South Korea and all other countries around North Korea have made significant economic progress, North Korea must realize that it has got a responsibility to provide a comfortable living to its people .It is high time that North Korea should come out of the Nuclear Syndrome.There is no meaning in loosing the support and good will of the supporters and friends including countries like Russia and China.
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