UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - An attempt by France and Britain to push the U.N. Security Council to condemn North Korea’s uranium enrichment program and its deadly attack on a South Korean island is on the verge of collapse, envoys said.
The reason for the virtual breakdown of talks on two separate Security Council statements to rebuke Pyongyang, U.N. envoys said, is China’s demand for removal of key words and phrases from both texts, leading South Korea to decide that it may be better not to have a council meeting on the issue.
“This afternoon talks on the enrichment issue essentially collapsed and it’s not clear that they can be revived,” a Western diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.
“Talks on the shelling incident also appear to be stalled,” the diplomat added. “There’s a slim chance that something could be agreed on there, but it’s not looking good either.”
News of the virtual collapse of U.N. talks on North Korea came on the same day that Pyongyang boasted about its uranium enrichment program, which gives it a second route to make nuclear weapons, and a week after it fired an artillery barrage at a South Korean island, killing four people.
The standoff over what language on North Korea that China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France -- and South Korea and Japan -- could accept highlights the way Beijing’s increasingly aggressive defense of its allies may lead nations to bypass the Security Council as a forum for action.
France and Britain had circulated draft language on both issues to Security Council members. South Korea, which is not on the council, was also closely involved in the discussions.
Paris, London, Washington, Seoul and Tokyo wanted the statements to explicitly “condemn” North Korea and speak of “violation” of council resolutions. In the case of the shelling incident, diplomats said, France and Britain wanted the council to state unequivocally that North Korea had attacked the South.
The vast majority of the 15 council members indicated that the Anglo-French draft language was acceptable and appropriate, diplomats said. China, however, had a different view.
“China said let’s remove ‘condemn’ and ‘violation’ and not blame North Korea, then it’s OK,” a diplomat said. “But that was unacceptable to most. It crossed too many red lines.”
Rather than force the issue in a Security Council meeting as South Korea has done in the past, envoys said, Seoul’s delegation has so far not called for council discussion on the issue because they are afraid of an unsatisfactory outcome.
“The Chinese are flexing their muscles,” a diplomat said. “The South Koreans are not willing to have another Cheonan incident situation. They figure nothing is better than a weak outcome.”
South Korea accused the North of sinking the South’s Cheonan warship in March, an allegation Pyongyang denied, and pressed the Security Council to condemn it. After months of negotiations, the most China would accept was a bland statement that condemned the attack without blaming North Korea for it.
Seoul was deeply disappointed, diplomats said.
North Korea was hit with two rounds of U.N. sanctions after it tested nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009. Negotiations were not easy, but China eventually supported both Security Council sanctions resolutions, albeit after insisting that the punitive measures contained in them be diluted.
Seoul’s apparent decision to give up on the Security Council and not keep pressuring veto-power China, one envoy said, was “out of character” for Seoul. Another diplomat said there was a small chance that upcoming high-level talks between U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials may yield something.
“Maybe we’ll manage to get something out of the council on the shelling and enrichment, but the chances are not good,” an envoy said. “China’s proving to be increasingly difficult on more and more issues -- North Korea, Sudan, Burma (Myanmar).”
Another remarked: “It’s annoying.”
Editing by Mohammad Zargham
