MOSCOW, September 9 /TASS/. Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian Federation Council Committee for Foreign Affairs, believes that a new nuclear test conducted by North Korea should become a theme for a detailed and meaningful discussion at the United Nations Security Council.
"With all the different approaches, the parties concerned have common understanding that it is necessary to do something. Otherwise, the world community will have to admit its defeat in the face of an obvious and dangerous challenge," the lawmaker wrote on his page in Facebook commenting on North Korea’s fifth nuclear test.
Meaningful discussion
According to Kosachev, the forthcoming session of the United Nations Security Council should be maximum concrete and meaningful.
"The news that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has conducted a new nuclear test, the most powerful of all, is alarming like never before," Kosachev stressed.
He noted that the current situation in the world "is approaching the orange level (of danger) and "every provocative action, especially if weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is in question, is only adding red shades to this level," Kosachev said adding that the situation on the Korean peninsula was a source of great concern.
"A small detonator would be enough to set more impressive military forces in motion. The U.S. presence and plans to implement the missile defense program in the territory of South Korea will certainly add fuel to this simmering fire," the lawmaker explained.
According to him, the nuclear non-proliferation regime is bulging at the seams. "If the international community is unable to find an effective response to DPRK’s nuclear challenges, it’s going to be a signal to many other states: only the real possession of nuclear weapons will make them soundly protected against the encroachments on the part of stronger adversaries (suffice it to remember the sad fate of Iraq and personally of its leader Saddam Hussein)," Kosachev stressed.
"The Americans use Pyongyang’s actions as a weighty argument for going ahead with their own plans to create a global missile defense system. Naturally, this fact is unlikely to suit Russia and many other states - China in the first place," Kosachev added.
Sanctions ineffective
Kosachev also noted that the DPRK’s example shows that "rigid sanctions imposed under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2207 in March this year are not working. It is extremely bad, of course," Kosachev noted. "Tougher sanctions will directly affect the people of the DPRK who are far from being prosperous. More isolation may weaken an opportunity to exert pressure on Pyongyang or even create a situation when it will have nothing to lose," Kosachev warned.
Russian Federation’s permanent representative to the global organization, Vitaly Churkin said that the United Nations Security Council should condemn North Korea’s nuclear test and discuss response measures, including possible expansion of sanctions.
"I think that we should first of all condemn it and then we will see," the diplomat said.
Answering the question whether Russia considers it to be necessary to expand sanctions against Pyongyang, he said that it "should be discussed."
North Korea held its fifth nuclear test Friday. Pyongyang said the test "confirmed that the nuclear warhead may be mounted on ballistic missiles" of the country’s Armed Forces. According to the Republic of Korea’s National Defense Ministry, this is the most powerful device tested in the DPRK. Pyongyang has so far conducted four nuclear tests: in 2006, 2009, 2013 and in January 2016.
The UN Security Council will gather on Friday at 22:00 for a meeting during which it will discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula and measures in response to the DPRK’s test.
UN SC resolutions ban the country from any activity connected with development of nuclear weapons and delivery means. The UN Security Council in March adopted Resolution 2270 that envisions an unprecedented toughening of sanctions against Pyongyang.
Despite that, over the past few months, the North Korean authorities have held more than 10 missile tests, the latest on September 5. The Security Council condemned the actions and threatened Pyongyang with new measures should SC resolutions be violated repeatedly.