Gates sees no threat of N. Korea's military action from U.N. sanctions

(ATTN: UPDATES with Bosworth's remarks, other details throughout)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has shown no military response to
discussions at the U.N. Security Council of further sanctions for the North's
nuclear test last month, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Thursday.

"I don't think that there has been a commensurate change in the posture of the
North Korean military that would suggest an intent to undertake operations,"
Gates said upon arriving in Brussels for a NATO defense ministers' meeting,
according to a transcript released by the Pentagon "Intelligence does not
indicate warlike changes in the North Korean military dispositions."
Gates added, "Military operations are pretty routine at this point, so that's a
source of some comfort. Intelligence information indicates that North Korea is
not mobilizing troops or moving troops and equipment."
The 15-member security council on Friday was moving to approve a U.S.-written
draft resolution calling for an overall arms embargo and financial sanctions on
North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test May 25, the second in three years, in
defiance of U.N. resolutions.
Gates, however, was still cautious.
"They are so unpredictable you can't completely discount them," he said. "It's a
very unpredictable regime, so it is probably not wise just to dismiss out-of-hand
the rhetoric."
China Tuesday approved the draft resolution as the U.S. and its allies agreed to
a demand by Beijing to change the word "decide" to "call on" in the provisions of
the draft in an apparent effort to make them voluntary.
Susan Rice, U.S. permanent representative to the U.N., Thursday expressed
satisfaction.
"We're very pleased with the outcome," she told a Fox News Channel program. "This
is a very strong comprehensive resolution with financial sanctions that are much
tougher and broader -- comprehensive export ban for arms; a much, much
strengthened inspection regime for suspect cargo on the high seas; and more North
Korean companies and individuals that will be subject to sanctions and asset
freezes."
Rice urged North Korea to return to the six-party talks on ending its nuclear
ambitions.
"The message to North Korea is to halt its nuclear program, halt its ballistic
missile program and return without conditions to a process of negotiations,
implement the steps it has committed to do already in an irreversible way," she
said.
Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, also told a
Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, "We remain willing to engage North
Korea to resolve our differences through diplomacy, including bilaterally, within
the framework of the six-party process."
"A central tenet of the Obama administration's foreign policy approach to date
has been a willingness to engage in dialogue with those with which we have had
differences, sometimes very serious differences," he said.
Bosworth reiterated the Obama administration "will not accept North Korea as a
nuclear weapons state," but added, "The U.S. has no hostile intent towards the
people of North Korea. Nor are we threatening to change the North Korean regime
through force."
On the allegations that Washington will relist North Korea as a state sponsor of
terrorism after the North's recent nuclear and missile tests, he said, "I would
note that a redesignation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism would
not result in any new material penalty to the North Koreans since many of the
activities that we are talking about are covered under other sanctions applied to
North Korea under other provisions of U.S. law."
The Bush administration delisted the North in October to facilitate the North's
denuclearization, as Pyongyang agreed verbally to a protocol for verification of
its past and current nuclear activity as part of the disabling process of its
nuclear facilities under a six-nation deal.
Pyongyang was put on the list in 1988, soon after North Korean agents blasted a
Korean Air plane over Myanmar, killing all 115 passengers.
Bosworth said that during a recent trip to Beijing, he "found that China shared a
deep concern about North Korea's recent actions, and a strong commitment to
achieve denuclearization. Our challenge now is to work with China to turn that
commitment into effective implementation of the UNSC resolutions."
Critics, however, are skeptical of China's intentions.
Despite assertions by Rice that the draft resolution provisions are mandatory,
there is heated debate on whether the provisions are legally binding.
Rice said Wednesday the draft "makes it clear in a binding requirement that any
state that refuses to submit to a consensual inspection on the high seas must be
directed by its flag state to proceed to port for mandatory inspection."
China has demanded any inspections be made within the framework of existing
international law, which prohibits cargo interdictions in international waters
unless approved by the country of the flag carried by the vessel.
The draft also calls on member states to "prevent the flow of funds
internationally that could in any way, shape or form benefit North Korea's
missile, nuclear or proliferation activities."
It is also implemented under Chapter VII, Article 41, of the U.N. Charter, which
excludes the use of force, thereby lacking the authority for mandatory
enforcement, just as in the case of Resolution 1718 and others adopted after
North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests in the past years that have
largely been disregarded by China.
China is the key to the implementation of any resolution, as North Korea is
heavily dependent on its communist neighbor for energy, food and other
necessities.
Walter Lohman, director of The Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center, said,
"Nothing has changed. The game is still about enforcement. Like the others, it
will be ignored."
North Korea's recent provocations, including nuclear and missile tests, are
widely seen as an attempt by ailing leader Kim Jong-il to help his son Jong-un
consolidate power.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said last week, "It may be premature
to say, but a variety of intelligence tells us that North Korea is in the process
of a power transition to Kim Jong-un."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)