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UN sanctions against DPRK working: Experts

By  Peng Kuang and Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-01 09:05

The international efforts to impose the UN Security Council's sanctions on Pyongyang as a punishment for its nuclear program have been efficient and consistent, Chinese experts said on Friday.

They made the remarks after the US coordinator for sanction implementation hailed the commitment of various countries as "strong and very unified".

Ambassador Philip Goldberg of the US said after meeting with the UN sanctions committee on Thursday that "there are already signs that the (sanction) resolution is working".

Goldberg was referring to Security Council Resolution 1874, adopted in June in response to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) May 25 nuclear test, which expanded an arms embargo and authorized inspections of air, sea and land shipments going to and from the country.

Zhang Liangui, a senior researcher on East Asia Studies at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said many countries have worked out measures to implement the UN resolution this time.

This is quite different from the situation in 2006, when the UN adopted Resolution 1718, which imposes economic and commercial sanctions on the DPRK.

Zhang called that resolution a "failure" because many countries did not implement it after Pyongyang returned to the Six-Party Talks.

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The lax implementation of UN sanctions led to the DPRK's May 25 nuclear test, Zhang said.

But after Pyongyang declared it would permanently withdraw from the six-nation talks, many countries realized the importance of implementing sanctions to resolve the Korean nuclear issue, he said.

Yang Xiyu, a senior expert on DPRK at the China Institute of International Studies, said China has played a "constructive role" in drafting and implementing the UN sanctions, which leave much room to bring the DPRK back to the negotiation table.

"China will keep its promise when implementing the sanctions," he said. "I hope they can help achieve the goal (of resolving the nuclear issue)."

Chinese border police reportedly seized 70 kg of the strategic metal vanadium bound for the DPRK, foiling an attempt early this week to smuggle material that could be used to make missile parts.

Altogether, 68 bottles worth nearly $30,000 were seized at Dandong border in Liaoning province, Dandong News said.

Liu Jiangyong, an expert on East Asian affairs at Tsinghua University, said no country would violate the latest UN resolution, as the sanctions will not hurt the DPRK people's livelihood.

"China has been cooperative in implementing the sanctions," he said.

Cargo ship Kang Nam, the first DPRK ship to be inspected under the new UN resolution, returned to the DPRK in June after Myanmar persuaded it to return home.

Part of the success in implementing Resolution 1874 is due to the "high level coordination" among UN member states, Goldberg said at the UN.

"There is a unity of view, a singleness of purpose in implementing these resolutions," said Goldberg, who also noted the cooperation of the Chinese government.

Liu said he believes the situation will not deteriorate.

"The Barack Obama administration will not resort to force to resolve the Korean nuclear issue The possibility of direct DPRK-US talks could not be ruled out," he said.

Xinhua contributed to the story