North Korea Comes Out Fighting Against UN Censure

UNITED NATIONS (June 16) -- North Korea is shifting from its generally non-communicative posture in a bid to stop the Security Council from condemning it for allegedly torpedoing the South Korean ship Cheonan in March, an act that resulted in the deaths of 46 sailors. But its rhetoric is as bellicose as ever.

In a rare 60-minute press conference at the United Nations, Sin Son Ho, North Korea's ambassador to the U.N., rejected South Korea's account of the overwhelming evidence pointing to a North Korean torpedo for the March sinking as "some kind of fiction in the Aesop's fables," and warned that the Security Council risked "taking sides" if it acted based solely on Seoul's evidence.

"If the Security Council release any documents against us condemning or questioning us in any document then myself as a diplomat, I can do nothing," he said. "The follow-up measures will be carried out by our military forces."

U.S. State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley rejected that stance, saying "North Korea cannot expect us to continue a business-as-usual approach when they go about sinking the Cheonan. We can't proceed as if this never took place."

Still, Scott Snyder, a North Korea expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, says that Pyongyang's approach is a departure of sorts. "They are actually making an effort that could be positive," he said. "In an odd sort of way they are trying to engage directly in the debate." He recalled that last year when Pyongyang faced sanctions for conducting its second nuclear test, the regime of leader Kim Jong Il made no effort to explain itself to the international community.

What's changed, Snyder suggested, is that the North Korean regime feels more vulnerable than ever, not only internationally but also in relation to its tightly controlled citizens. "This case is tied to political legitimacy issues at home," said Snyder. "[The government] is already facing criticism for its economic policies from its people." A massive currency devaluation last year reportedly wiped out the meager savings of the country's already impoverished population.

For that reason, North Korea is pulling out the stops to quash U.N. censure. Pyongyang's demand for its own investigation -- and its threats of military action if a resolution is passed -- has stemmed the speedy passage of a resolution that many nations consider to be a fair punishment for the death of 46 sailors.

But Michael O'Hanlon, a North Korea expert at the Brookings Institution, says Pyongyang's unyielding stance "could backfire by making it hard eventually for China and Russia to refuse to impose penalties."

He says the U.N should demand that North Korea pay reparations to the families of the deceased sailors, as Libya did for the 259 victims killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. "If North Korea won't pay, we should together extract it from them by reducing trade and aid for a temporary period of time. And China should go along," he said.

Washington is pushing for a resolution that condemns North Korea, while Beijing backs a non-binding statement that condemns only the act of ship sinking.

Some countries like Japan, for instance, do not want to settle for anything less than sanctions. "The Council should consider the appropriate sanctions since the incident is very serious," said Yukio Takasu, asserting that the majority of countries in the Council were already convinced that North Korea torpedoed Cheonan.

Critics of the sanctions, however, underline the need to prioritize peace and recommend other less confrontational ways of getting North Korea to account for its provocative deed.

North Korea's main newspaper today ran a commentary noting a "very dangerous situation" on the Korean peninsula, "in which a minor accidental incident could trigger an all-out war and develop into a nuclear war."

"The U.N. Security Council must fulfill its responsibilities by bringing to light the truth of the incident impartially and objectively," the Rodong Sinmun newspaper's commentary read. It was also carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen nuclear weapons, and in the past it has made similar threats to use them.