The United States was pushing the United Nations Security Council to issue a statement condemning Pyongyang for allegedly reviving its nuclear weapons program, diplomats here said Friday.
The US mission has circulated a draft statement to other members of the 15-nation council and requested for a council meeting on it Monday, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity.
The statement, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua, "condemns North Korea's nuclear weapons programs and the actions since last October when it acknowledged it was pursuing a uranium enrichment program for nuclear weapons ..."
It would call on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to "immediately and completely dismantle its nuclear weapons program in a verifiable and irreversible manner."
The diplomats believe the council would not adopt the statement since many members do not favor escalating the current tense situation on the Korean Peninsula by piling up pressure on the DPRK.
It's "inappropriate" to exert pressure on the DPRK at a time when concerned parties have already started the so-called Beijing dialogue process, they say.
In April, US, DPRK and Chinese officials held tripartite talks in Beijing on the crisis resulting from the DPRK's declared withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in January.
In January, the DPRK also reactivated its nuclear facilities to generate electricity to ease an energy crunch.
In February, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared the DPRK in violation of UN nuclear safeguards provisions and referred the nuclear issue to the Security Council.
(People's Daily June 21, 2003)
