Rice supports Japan for UN Security Council
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has supported Japanese membership of the UN Security Council while preparing to visit South Korea in a less confrontational approach to persuading North Korea to return to international nuclear disarmament talks.
Her speech at Tokyo’s Sophia University was to be a lengthy statement of US foreign policy goals in Asia and commitment to spread democratic principles, even in communist China, officials said.
Regarding North Korea, Rice indicated before today’s speech that the next move in a stand-off over nuclear weapons will be up to the Pyongyang government, and she played down expectations that her visit to Asian capitals will produce a breakthrough.
North Korea pulled out of six-nation nuclear arms talks and announced last month that it has already built a nuclear weapon.
“Our security is jeopardised ... by North Korea’s nuclear weapons ambitions. The six-party talks offer the best framework for dealing with this problem,” Rice said.
”This is where the North Korean government can find the respect it desires and acquire the assistance it needs if it is willing to make a strategic choice.”
Answering questions from the audience after her speech, Rice said she knows there is some international frustration with the slow pace of North Korean arms talks. But she said the six-party discussions remain the best option. She rejected a suggestion that the US might make more progress if it dealt with North Korea one on one.
“We bring different incentives, different leverage to North Korea, each of us ... I would be first to admit it is not easy to deal with North Korea,” she said.
She added that the US has no intention of attacking North Korea, and Pyongyang can have other unspecified security guarantees if it renounces nuclear weapons.
Concerning the UN Security Council, permanent membership is a long-standing Japanese goal. Rice’s endorsement was the most explicit statement yet of US support for Japan’s request.
“Japan has earned its honourable place among the nations of the world by its own effort and by its own character,” Rice said. “That is why the US unambiguously supports a permanent seat for Japan on the United Nations Security Council.”
Rice also proposed that Japan and the US cooperate on distribution of international development aid, focusing on countries that accept their own share of responsibility.
