June 6th 2003
By TAI KAWABATA, Staff writer
The director of the London-based International Institute for Strategic
Studies said Wednesday there are "real opportunities" for the U.S. and its
regional allies to deal with North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.
Speaking at a lecture sponsored by the Japan Institute of International
Affairs, John Chipman said that unlike the situation surrounding Iraq, the
U.S. has no fixed policy on the North Korea problem and encourages a
multilateral approach.
He also noted that the U.S. has remained almost silent on the use of armed
force, encourages regional allies to take the lead and is not even willing
to call the North Korea problem a "crisis."
During the Tokyo lecture, Chipman called on the U.S. and regional countries
to work together on a statement that would convince North Korea its security
would be guaranteed if it does not acquire nuclear weapons.
"If only the U.S. says this, North Korea would convince themselves that this
is part of the fetish of nonproliferation the U.S. has," Chipman said. "But
if Russia, China and Japan say this is intolerable, then it is easier to
claim that the regime's security in North Korea would be better guaranteed
if it abandons its nuclear programs."
Simply inviting North Korea to return to the nonproliferation treaty will
not work, Chipman stressed.
Instead, the United Nations should clearly establish a legal structure in
which a U.N. Security Council resolution renders illegal under international
law "the confirmed acquisition by North Korea of weapons of mass destruction
and trade by North Korea or with North Korea in weapons of mass destruction
or in delivery mechanisms of weapons of mass destruction," he said.
This would make it possible to interdict and seize ships transporting
missiles, biological or chemical weapons from North Korea, he said.
But he also said the second part of any resolution should "call on all
relevant parties ... to encourage all possible diplomatic efforts to
multilaterally resolve the current dispute."
"I don't think it is useful for the first big U.N. Security Council
resolution on this subject to threaten sanctions," he added.
