U.N. SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA NOT ENOUGH

North Korea conducted a nuclear test on October 9 in defiance of the international community. On Saturday October 14, 2006, the United Nations Security Council voted to impose a package of sanctions on North Korea. It falls short of the actions necessary to stop Kim Jong Il and his despotic regime from becoming a dangerous and illegal nuclear power.

The first thing the U.N. should do is demand is a change in the country’s name. Calling North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is an outright lie and an offense of the sensibilities of truly democratic people around the world. Okay, do not change the name of the country. I am flexible. Oust Kim Jong Il and his robots from power. Have a true democratic government take over. That will work. North Korea’s neighbor, communist China, another so-called “People’s Democratic Republic,” should follow suit.

North Korea has disregarded all attempts by the U.N. to bring that nation in line with international agreements. Listen how resolution 1718 begins: “The Security Council, recalling its previous relevant resolutions, including resolution 825 (1993), resolution 1540 (2004) and, in particular, resolution 1695 (2006), as well as the statement of its President of 6 October 2006 (S/PRST/2006/41) ... condemns North Korea’s nuclear test of October 9, etc. etc.” In other words, for thirteen years now, the U.N. has tried to get North Korea to adhere by the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to no avail. What makes them think the current sanctions will have any effect unless accompanied by the threat of the use of force by the international community?

North Korea flatly rejects the Security Council’s demands. These include the demand to stop any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile, the demand to retract its announcement of withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and the demand to return to the Treaty and comply with International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards as well as with their Treaty obligations. Furthermore, the council decided “... that the DPRK shall abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner...” and so on and so forth.

North Korean Ambassador Pak Gil Yon discarded the U.N.’s “gangster-like” resolution and threatened to take “physical countermeasures,” if the United States persisted in increasing pressure upon his country, considering such actions a declaration of war.

There you have it. Perhaps war is the only way to stop North Korea from becoming a greater danger to civilization. The present sanctions do not amount to much. One of the most important provisions of resolution 1718 aims to prevent the trafficking of ballistic missiles or unconventional weapons. It calls for the inspection of all cargo leaving and arriving in North Korea. China, the state bordering North Korea, does not like it. In so many words, their ambassador to the U.N. said they do not want any confrontations with their neighbor. They may inspect cargo, but do not want to have to seize illegal shipments. What good is that? Moreover, China feels the inspections the U.S. and other countries may conduct in international waters are illegal.

The U.N. has to put pressure on China to carry out its obligations under resolution 1718, monitor the enforcement of these sanctions, and be ready to take further action if North Korea fails to dismantle its nuclear program. President Bush said the U.S. and other nations would help North Korea recover economically, if their leader agrees to the U.N.'s demands. I disagree with that offer. The economic woes of North Korea are no different from those of Cuba. The hunger and suffering of their peoples is due to the antihuman totalitarian regimes in charge of those nations’ destinies. We should not contribute one penny to the perpetuation of those dictatorial governments. Instead, let us find a way to make them disappear.

Recommended Reading: Ercian Testament - Part III, chapter 27 “Proligion Revisited.”