S Korea won't give in to North's nuclear, missile threats
Sunday, 7 June 2009
SEOUL, June 6 (AP): Seoul will not give in to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, the South's president said Saturday, as key nations edged closer to agreeing on UN sanctions to punish the communist country for its latest nuclear test.
Meanwhile, leaders from South Korea and the US demanded the release of their citizens detained in the secretive nation. The detainees are two US journalists arrested on the China-North Korea border three months ago and a South Korean maintenance worker accused of slandering the regime. Little is known about the status of their cases.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak delivered his stern warning to the North in a nationally televised Memorial Day speech honoring the country's war dead at Seoul's National Cemetery.
"I would like to make it clear that there will be no compromise against things that threaten our people and security," Lee said, in a reference to the North's May 25 underground nuclear blast and recent missile tests.
Lee's words echoed those of US officials, who have also said the North's former tactics of using military threats to win much-needed food and energy aid would no longer work. Washington is considering punishing the North with its own financial sanctions, apart from whatever the UN might decide to adopt.
At the UN, lengthy closed-door negotiations about sanctions appeared to be close to an end. The measure was being worked out by five veto-wielding Security Council nations - the US, China, Russia, Britain and France - along with Japan and South Korea.
The seven nations have sent a draft of the measure to their capitals for comment, and the ambassadors are expected to continue meeting early next week to discuss the governments' reactions.
The draft calls on UN members to immediately comply with sanctions imposed in 2006 after North Korea's first nuclear test, which include an arms embargo on heavy weapons, ship searches for illegal weapons, and a ban on luxury goods.
The South Korean president called on the military to have perfect defense readiness during his tour to Osan Air Base near Seoul, where he met top South Korean and US military officials, according to his office. The US has some 28,500 troops in South Korea to help deter the North's possible aggression.
North Korea lashed out at Lee with a report filed by its news agency with the headline, "Puppet traitor's unpopular rule slammed." Another report criticised Seoul's recent decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative - a US-led programme aimed at halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Meanwhile, leaders from South Korea and the US demanded the release of their citizens detained in the secretive nation. The detainees are two US journalists arrested on the China-North Korea border three months ago and a South Korean maintenance worker accused of slandering the regime. Little is known about the status of their cases.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak delivered his stern warning to the North in a nationally televised Memorial Day speech honoring the country's war dead at Seoul's National Cemetery.
"I would like to make it clear that there will be no compromise against things that threaten our people and security," Lee said, in a reference to the North's May 25 underground nuclear blast and recent missile tests.
Lee's words echoed those of US officials, who have also said the North's former tactics of using military threats to win much-needed food and energy aid would no longer work. Washington is considering punishing the North with its own financial sanctions, apart from whatever the UN might decide to adopt.
At the UN, lengthy closed-door negotiations about sanctions appeared to be close to an end. The measure was being worked out by five veto-wielding Security Council nations - the US, China, Russia, Britain and France - along with Japan and South Korea.
The seven nations have sent a draft of the measure to their capitals for comment, and the ambassadors are expected to continue meeting early next week to discuss the governments' reactions.
The draft calls on UN members to immediately comply with sanctions imposed in 2006 after North Korea's first nuclear test, which include an arms embargo on heavy weapons, ship searches for illegal weapons, and a ban on luxury goods.
The South Korean president called on the military to have perfect defense readiness during his tour to Osan Air Base near Seoul, where he met top South Korean and US military officials, according to his office. The US has some 28,500 troops in South Korea to help deter the North's possible aggression.
North Korea lashed out at Lee with a report filed by its news agency with the headline, "Puppet traitor's unpopular rule slammed." Another report criticised Seoul's recent decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative - a US-led programme aimed at halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction.