Speeches

Dangerous Times

Op-ed by United States Ambassador, John Darrell Rood
November 3, 2006

North Korea’s October 8 announcement that it had tested a nuclear weapon sent shock waves through the international community.  An unstable, undemocratic, aggressive regime which has been actively developing long range missiles is now one step closer to being able to place a nuclear warhead on those missiles.

This ominous development imperils the safety and security of people in every region because the North Korean regime remains one of the world’s leading proliferators of missile technology.  The transfer of missile or nuclear technology by North Korea to another state or terrorist group could constitute a grave threat to international peace and security.

Through the Six Party talks, the United States has worked with China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan to urge North Korea to meet its obligations and abandon its weapons program.  In the United Nations, the international community passed UN Security Council Resolution 1695, which called on UN members to urge North Korea to “abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, and to return at an early date to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.”

In the wake of the nuclear test, the Security Council passed Resolution 1718, which calls upon states to prevent the shipment of military equipment and luxury goods to North Korea and to prevent the shipment from North Korea of WMD or missile components and technology.  The resolution specifically calls on UN Member States to prevent the procurement of prohibited items from North Korea by their nationals, or using their flagged vessels or aircraft.

Every country has a responsibility to do what it can to prevent the proliferation of weapons and missile technology.  To this end, the United States has been encouraging nations -- including The Bahamas -- to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).  PSI participants commit to international cooperation to establish a more coordinated and effective basis to impede shipments of WMD, weapons delivery systems, and related materials flowing to and from states and non-state actors such as terrorist organizations.

The more nations that participate in the PSI, the tighter the net that will be drawn around the proliferators.  The participation of the Bahamas, which has the third largest ship registry in the world, is vital to the success of this initiative.  Other leading ship registry countries including Liberia, Panama, and Cyprus have already agreed to participate in PSI.  The Secretary of State has urged all significant ship registry countries to move ahead quickly to enhance the effectiveness of this critical mechanism for preventing proliferation.     

We were pleased that North Korea recently decided to return to the six-party talks.   But returning to the talks is only the first step toward meeting the concerns of the international community.  The sanctions imposed by the UN on North Korea to limit its ability to further develop its WMD programs remain in place until North Korea complies with all parts of UNSC 1718. 

President Bush has made it clear that the way forward for North Korea is to abandon its missile and WMD programs, rejoin the non-proliferation framework, and honor the commitments in that framework.  Once they do so, the international community stands ready to work with North Korea to foster a better standard of living for its longsuffering people. 

The international community also recognizes that the people of North Korea deserve a brighter future.  That is why Resolution 1718 imposes sanctions on North Korea, but also provides for humanitarian exemptions to ensure that the people of North Korea are not punished for the defiance of the regime in Pyongyang.

The Bahamas has always taken a strong stand against nuclear proliferation and in support of international agreements on non-proliferation.  The United States will continue to support the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.  We welcome the continuing support of The Bahamas in meeting the North Korean challenge, and look forward to concluding a Proliferation Security Agreement.