India Holds North Korean Ship on Nuclear Suspicions
Monday, Aug. 10, 2009India has detained a North Korean freighter on suspicion that it might be carrying nuclear materials, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Aug. 7).
(Aug. 10) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspects a military unit in an undated video segment aired by state media last October. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton discussed his "personal views" on Pyongyang's nuclear program during a meeting with Kim last week, a top U.S. official said (Getty Images).
As punishment for North Korea's May nuclear test, the U.N. Security Council in June approved a round of sanctions that included an embargo on North Korean arms exports. The U.N. resolution encouraged member nations to interdict suspicious ships and inspect them for illicit cargo.
Scientists so far have found no nuclear materials aboard the ship, according to Indian police officer Ashok Chand. However, "there will be more checking today and we will open the hatch to check the entire consignment for any radioactive material," Chand said.
If any is found, the U.N. resolution enables Indian authorities to confiscate and destroy the material.
The freighter, called the MV Mu San, was chased down by the Indian coast guard and escorted to a port in the Bay of Bengal after anchoring in Indian waters without authorization last week.
"India is strictly following the rules and has the right to ask ships to be inspected to ensure that they are in compliance with the U.N. resolution," said Uday Bhaskar, head of an Indian maritime think tank.
New Delhi's enthusiastic enforcement of the sanctions could be related to suspicions that North Korea might be building infrastructure for a nuclear-weapons program for Myanmar, a military state located east of India, near where the MV Mu San was picked up.
"With increased reports of North Korea helping Myanmar build a nuclear reactor, any vessel floating in Indian waters without a possible reason will be checked and India is rightly concerned," said Indian diplomat Naresh Chandra.
"North Korea is realizing that the eyes of the world are on them and they are feeling the blows from U.N. sanctions," said South Korean analyst Lee Sang-hyun. "They will have to be careful because this incident shows they are feeling more pressure from countries around the world."
A Korean interpreter is scheduled to arrive today to assist authorities in questioning the ship's 39-member crew (Sanjib Roy, Reuters I, Aug. 10).
In the meantime, "we are not getting any cooperation from their side," said a member of the team investigating the case (Sanjib Roy, Reuters II, Aug. 9).
In Washington, the White House yesterday said it would be willing to engage Pyongyang in direct negotiations if it first agrees to rejoin the six-party denuclearization talks, the Associated Press reported.
"If they come back to the talks, we will talk to them bilaterally within those talks," said national security adviser Gen. James Jones.
"We have coordinated all of this, by the way, with other allies the Chinese, the Russians, the South Koreans, the Japanese," Jones said. "So the path is clear, and President Clinton is a very convincing gentleman and I hope he was able to convince them."
The White House has been careful to make clear that former President Bill Clinton, who traveled to Pyongyang last week to retrieve two captive U.S. journalists, did not negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on behalf of the Obama administration. However, Clinton "was able to convey his personal views of the issue issue of the moment, which is making sure nuclear weapons do not appear on the Korean Peninsula," Jones said.
Pyongyang signed nuclear disarmament agreements in 2005 and 2007 and made some moves toward meeting its commitments under those documents. However, the process stalled last year and appeared to collapse completely this spring in the wake of the North's nuclear and missile tests.
"North Korea can't continue to make commitments and then violate them and expect to start from where they left off," said Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "The ball is in their court" (Associated Press/Google News, Aug. 9).
Jones said the North Korean leader Kim seems to retain "full control" of his government despite rumors that poor health had sidelined him from leadership duties and portended an imminent power struggle among his possible successors, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday.
The dictator is believed to have suffered a stroke a year ago, and a South Korean news outlet recently reported that he might be terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. Although Kim is thought to have named his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as his successor, many analysts believe the 26-year-old heir could face a power struggle with party elders that could destabilize the government.
However, "preliminary reports" from Clinton and his delegation "appear (to show) that Kim Jong Il is in full control of his organization, his government."
The delegation also reported that the North Koreans "have indicated that they would like a new relation, a better relation with the United States" (Jim Mannion, Agence France-Presse I/Google News, Aug. 9).
North Korea said it will be watching to see if a planned satellite launch from South Korea draws the same international ire that Pyongyang incurred when it launched what it claims to have been a rocket-mounted satellite in April, AFP reported.
The United Nations believes the April launch was a long-range missile test disguised as a satellite launch and publicly condemned the North. Pyongyang responded by withdrawing from multilateral denuclearization talks, marking the start of a deterioration of relations with the international nonproliferation regime.
"Their reaction and attitude towards South Korea's satellite launch will once again clearly prove whether the principle of equality exists or has collapsed," Pyongyang said through the state-run news agency.
Pyongyang re-emphasized its displeasure over being condemned for what it argues was a peaceful activity that was within its right.
The U.N. condemnation "resulted in violating the principle of respect for sovereignty and equality, the life and soul and basis of the talks, and bringing them to an end," it said. "We will closely watch if the above-said parties will also refer to South Korea's satellite launch to the [Security Council]" (Agence France-Presse II//Google News, Aug. 10).
