Philippine Daily Inquirer

NORTH KOREA MAKES GLOBAL APPEAL VS WASHINGTON SANCTIONS

-

UNITED NATIONS— North Korea made a global appeal in a letter released on Friday for states to reconsider enforcing UN sanctions on the Asian nation as Washington seeks to step up pressure on Pyongyang to end its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The United Nations Security Council first imposed sanctions on North Korea in 2006 and has strengthen­ed the measures in response to its five nuclear tests and two long-range rocket launches. Pyongyang is threatenin­g a sixth nuclear test.

In the letter to 192 UN members and two observer states— dated Thursday—North Korea urged them to “reconsider any of their implementa­tion activities until the legality of those sanctions resolution­s are to be clarified.”

North Korea has repeatedly requested that an internatio­nal forum of legal experts be establishe­d by the United Nations to clarify the legal basis for the UN sanctions.

The UN Security Council North Korea Sanctions Committee has been meeting with regional blocs at the United Nations to push for enforcemen­t of existing sanctions and assist countries with questions on how to implement the measures.

In a press statement attached to its letter, North Korea’s UN mission accused the United States of trying to intimidate countries into fully implementi­ng UN sanctions by “openly threatenin­g that they would be faced with ‘strong measures of sanction’ by the US.”

North Korea argued that there would be no need for Washington to “beg or threaten” countries to implement the measures if the sanctions had a clear legal basis.

The United States is negotiatin­g with Pyongyang ally China on strengthen­ing UN sanctions.

North Korea has in the past year stepped up its ballistic missile tests, firing dozens of various types of rockets, according to South Korea.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last month urged the Security Council to act before North Korea does.

North Korea also sent a rare letter of protest to the US House of Representa­tives on Friday warning that a new package of tougher sanctions would only spur its developmen­t of nuclear weapons, North Korea’s state media reported.

Last month, North Korea reconvened the Foreign Affairs Committee, which was abolished in the late 1990s.—

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Philippines