Japan calls U.N. statement on N. Korea 'significant achievement'

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TOKYO, April 14 Kyodo -
The Japanese government expressed satisfaction Tuesday with the adoption of a
presidential statement by the U.N. Security Council condemning North Korea's
April 5 rocket launch, with the top government spokesman calling it a
''significant achievement'' for Japan's diplomacy.
''The content of the presidential statement eventually became extraordinarily
strong,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a news conference.
He said it is in line with Japan's assertion that the launch should be
condemned as a violation of Security Council Resolution 1718 and that the
council should send a strong message.
Japan had ''come to the conclusion that we'd like to seek substance rather than
an action in form only,'' he said.
Kawamura said that Japan, which had initially insisted on adopting a resolution
at the Security Council, had made diplomatic efforts at various levels.
He said that the presidential statement sends ''a strong message'' and has a
similar effect to adopting a new resolution.
The Security Council adopted a nonbinding presidential statement Monday
condemning Pyongyang's rocket launch as a violation of a resolution banning the
country from all missile activity and demanding no further launches.
North Korea claims the launch was for sending a satellite into orbit, but Japan
and many other countries suspect it was a cover for a long-range ballistic
missile test.
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said in a statement that the Security
Council presidential statement ''has important significance not only for Japan,
which was exposed to grave risks by the launch, but also for the security of
the entire Northeast Asia region.''
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada also expressed appreciation for the
presidential statement, referring to moves to list additional goods and
entities subject to the sanctions on North Korea in connection with its
suspected nuclear weapons and missile development activities.
''I have heard that a U.N. sanctions committee will move to explicitly impose
sanctions,'' Hamada said. ''I had thought either a resolution or a presidential
statement would be effective, but I now feel that 'substance' has been
chosen.''
==Kyodo
2009-04-14 22:36:37