October 6, 2006
NORTH Korea can have a future or it can have nuclear weapons but
"it cannot have both", the US said, as staunch ally China warned
"no one is going to protect" the regime should it go ahead with
atomic tests.
Beijing's ominous caution breaks a longstanding policy of avoiding
criticism of Pyongyang, and leaves the Stalinist state without the
support of its sole powerful friend.
"I think if North Koreans do have the nuclear test, I think that
they have to realise that they will face serious consequences,"
China's UN ambassador, Wang Guangya, said.
The rebuke spells trouble for North Korea, which faces a relatively
united front against its nuclear aspirations, in sharp contrast to
the fractured reaction to a series of missile tests in July. At
that time, China accused Japan of overreacting in calling for
sanctions.
The North said earlier this week that it planned to test an atomic
bomb, and a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Seoul said yesterday the
threat was not "bragging" but "a real action to be executed".
A US defence official said spy satellites had detected unusual
activity at potential test sites, an indication that preparations
were possibly under way.
The sightings were backed up by reports in South Korean media that
identified Kilju, a town in the north-east near the coast, as the
site of recent suspicious activity.
But the US, whose satellite images accurately predicted July's
missile tests, was less sure about the latest signs.
"We don't really know what we're looking for," the US defence
official said, because the North had not conducted a nuclear test
before.
In a strongly worded speech, the US assistant secretary of state
for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Christopher Hill, said the US
would not accept a nuclear-armed Korea or a nuclear test.
"It can have a future or it can have these weapons. It cannot have
both," he said.
But Japan, which is emerging as the lead broker in regional efforts
to defuse the crisis, said it was aiming for a joint statement next
week with China and possibly South Korea urging the North to give
up the test, Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
Japan has also said that the UN Security Council should issue a
"speedy and united" signal to the North to exercise
restraint.
US officials have been pressing China to intervene, though it is
unclear how much influence the Chinese have; Beijing asked the
North not to conduct the missile tests in July but was
ignored.
Close observers of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il say the threat
to detonate a nuclear bomb is a tactic to keep him at the centre of
regional affairs and to force the US into direct negotiations over
the future of his regime and aid to the impoverished country.
The US, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan have urged North Korea
to resume the six-party talks on nuclear issues. Other nations,
including Australia, are also urging a recommencement.
