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N Korea gets nuke warning
15/05/2005 21:18 - (SA)
Washington - The US administration warned North Korea on Sunday that any nuclear arms test would be seen as a serious act of defiance that would face action.
But US national security advisor Stephen Hadley denied that US attempts to get China to put greater pressure on the Pyongyang regime had failed.
Hadley confirmed to US television networks that indications had been detected that a blast was being prepared. But he highlighted how North Korea was such a closed country that no-one could be sure.
Hadley told CNN a weapons test "would be a very serious development". "It would be something where the North Koreans would be defying not only us, but our partners in the six-party talks, and action would have to be taken."
The US and the other four nations seeking to engage the North in nuclear talks have been looking for the past two weeks at what experts say could be preparations for an atomic experiment.
"We've seen some activity that is consistent with possible preparations for a nuclear test. We don't know for sure," Hadley added.
"As you know, North Korea is a very hard target. There is a lot we don't know about it."
But President George W Bush's security advisor said Washington was sharing information with China, South Korea, Russia and Japan - the other countries trying to engage North Korea in the so-called Six-Party Talks.
Hadley indicated that any explosion would be met by a joint international response.
"Obviously, that would be a serious step, and it would require us to consult very closely with our colleagues on the six-party talks for what kind of response we should make," he told Fox News.
A leader of Japan's ruling party said the country would seek sanctions against North Korea if it conducts a nuclear test.
Shinzo Abe, acting secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party said it would be "unthinkable" for Tokyo to do nothing in the face of a test.
"If their possession of nuclear weapons is fully confirmed and they conduct a nuclear test, we must bring the issue to the UN Security Council and call for economic sanctions," Abe told Asai TV.
The United States has reportedly tried to persuade China to cut its oil link to North Korea to apply pressure. But the Chinese foreign ministry this week rejected such action.
Hadley denied that US policy had failed by relying on China.
"The most important thing is that at the senior levels of the governments, Russia, China, the United States, South Korea, and Japan, there is agreement that a nuclear North Korea is unacceptable and we need a denuclearized Korean peninsula," he told Fox News.
"We have all been sending that same message to North Korea. The six-party talks is a vehicle for sending that message. More, obviously, needs to be done."
He said that the United States and China were placing a lot of diplomatic pressure on the hardline state.
"If there is a nuclear test, obviously that will be a defiance by North Korea of every member of the six-party talks, including China. And we think at that point, we will have to have a serious conversation about other steps we can take," he said.
"So we think this is an ongoing diplomatic process. It is a dynamic process, and we're comfortable that we are all on the same page and the six-party talks continues to be the right forum, bringing together all those with leverage and influence on North Korea," Hadley added.
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