Text Fwd: U.S. delegation in Middle East on N. Korea sanctions implementation: State Dept.

Yonhap News
2009/10/03 05:50 KST
U.S. delegation in Middle East on N. Korea sanctions implementation: State Dept.
By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. delegation is traveling to the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to discuss implementation of U.N. sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests, the State Department said Friday.

"Ambassador Phil Goldberg, our coordinator for implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874, is leading an interagency delegation which includes Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Danny Glaser," spokesman Ian Kelly said. "They were in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, October 1st, with meetings with Emirati officials regarding implementation of sanctions on North Korea as called for in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874."

Resolution 1874 was adopted after North Korea's second nuclear test in May, after one in 2006, to call for an overall arms embargo and financial sanctions and interdiction of cargo on the high seas to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.

Kelly said that the U.S. delegation will also travel to Cairo Sunday to meet with Egyptian officials on implementation of the North Korea sanctions before returning to Washington Monday.

"We've long been concerned about North Korea's proliferation activities in the Middle East, so this is part of that, and this is part of his overall effort to ensure that the -- that this U.N. Security Council resolution and other relevant resolutions are implemented," the spokesman said, referring to Goldberg.

Kelly dismissed the allegation that the UAE and Egypt are problem states concerning North Korea's nuclear and missile proliferation, saying, "Well, not necessarily."

"I think that these are countries that can help us identify areas where we can deal with this problem of proliferation from North Korea," the spokesman said. "He will continue to meet with partners, not only in the Middle East, but also, of course, in Asia."

North Korea has long been suspected of being behind nuclear and missile proliferation in Syria, Iran, Pakistan and several other countries in the Middle East.

The UAE in July seized a Bahamian-flagged ship carrying North Korean rocket-propelled grenades and other conventional weapons labeled as machine parts, the first seizure of its kind that effectively intercepted a North Korean arms shipment since the Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 in June after North Korea's nuclear test in May.

India seized a North Korean ship off its coast in early August only to find no weapons aboard.

In late June, a North Korean cargo ship, possibly on its way to Myanmar, returned home after being closely chased by U.S. Navy vessels.

Goldberg recently concluded an Asian tour, including stops in Seoul and Tokyo, and pledged to push ahead with financial and other sanctions against the cash-strapped North. Arms sales are one of North Korea's major sources of revenue.

Despite a series of conciliatory gestures by the North to reach out to the outside world after months of provocations, the U.S. has said it will continue to observe U.N. sanctions, and has yet to respond to Pyongyang's call for bilateral talks.

North Korea has said it will boycott the six-party talks on its denuclearization permanently due to the U.N. sanctions, but recently invited Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, to Pyongyang.

U.S. officials said they will soon make a decision on whether to send Bosworth to Pyongyang to persuade the North to come back to the six-party talks, although they pledged not to try to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through bilateral talks.

Any decision will likely be made after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits Pyongyang early next week on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of normalization of Chinese-North Korean ties. There are reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may make an important announcement on the six-party talks at that time.

Bosworth said Tuesday that the Barack Obama administration does not have a military option on the table regarding North Korea's denuclearization.

"There is no military solution," he said. "Containment does not give long-term results. Negotiations are the way forward."

hdh@yna.co.kr