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Journalism of Courage
North Korea,defiant in the face of international condemnation of its latest nuclear test,fired two more short-range missiles off its east coast on Tuesday and accused the US of plotting against its government.
In a move certain to compound tensions in the region,South Korea said it would join a US-led initiative to intercept ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction,something Pyongyang has warned it would consider a declaration of war.
North Korea fired off three short-range missiles on Monday.
The nuclear test on Monday,the Norths second after one in 2006,drew sharp rebuke from regional powers,and US President Barack Obama called Pyongyangs nuclear arms programme a threat to international security. Underlining concerns over how far the North might be prepared to raise the stakes,Obama assured South Korean President Lee Myung-bak of Washingtons unequivocal commitment to defence on the long-divided peninsula.
The nuclear test is also bound to raise concerns about proliferation,a major worry of the US which has in the past accused Pyongyang of trying to sell its nuclear know-how to states such as Syria. Some analysts say it also has close military ties with Iran. The DPRKs nuclear test not only poses a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,and southeast Asia and beyond,but also represents a grave challenge to the international non-proliferation regime, South Korean disarmament ambassador Im Han-tauck told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
The UNSC condemned the nuclear test and is working on a new resolution. Interfax news agency in Moscow quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry source as saying the adoption of a tough resolution was probably unavoidable because the Security Councils authority was at stake.
