Obama Vows to Get Tough With North Korea

President Barack Obama vows to take "firm action" alongside US allies against the "provocations" of North Korea after the communist state carried out its third nuclear test.

Published

3 months ago

Categories

US, World

Topics

Nuclear Nonproliferation, US Politics, Asia, United States, Politics & Government

People

Barack Obama, Kim Jong-un

Places

United States of America, North Korea

Transcript

SCRIPT: A brazen act of defiance against the world. North Korea conducts its third and biggest nuclear test yet at a remote underground site. Pyongyang declares it to be a response to US "hostility". In his annual State of the Union address, President Obama joins other world leaders in condemning the action and calls for tougher sanctions. SOUNDBITE 1 Barack Obama, US President (English, 12 sec): "Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only isolate them further, as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats." But global powers may have limited room for manoeuvre in the face of North Korea's obstinacy. The isolated communist state has vowed further tests, fuelling fears it's developing nuclear ballistic missiles. SOUNDBITE 2 Masao Okonogi (man), professor in Korean politics, Keio University, Japan (Japanese, 15 sec): "It would have to be the end of the sanctions policy as it is if North Korea manages to build its nuclear missile. Washington has to start some kind of negotiation before this happens." And that’s what analysts say could be leader Kim Jong Un's goal -- to seek a settlement on North Korean terms. Pyongyang's sole sponsor China reacted angrily to the test but seems unwilling to push the North too far, fearing chaos in the region should the regime collapse. And nerves are strained in South Korea, which plans to boost its own long-range missiles. SOUNDBITE 3 Jae-Hwan (man), South Korean military reserve member (Korean, 14 sec) : "I'm a little worried that I may get dragged back into the battle fields again if our government responds aggressively. So I hope that things can be solved as peacefully as possible." With the prospect of further sanctions doing little to deter North Korea, their standoff with the world only looks set to intensify. SHOTLIST: PYONGYANG, FEB 12, 2013, SOURCE: KCTV - NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES VAR announcement of nuclear test on North Korean TV P'UNGGYE-YOK KILJU, NORTH KOREA, OCT 16, 2006, SOURCE: KOREA AEROSPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE NO RESALE FOR NON EDITORIAL PURPOSES MANDATORY CREDIT "Korea Aerospece Research Institute" NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS Satellite file photo taken on October 16, 2006 and made available on October 24, 2006 by South Korea's Arirang 2 satellite shows North Korea's suspected nuclear test site in P'unggye-yok Kilju county (enlarged bottom R) and a three-dimensional description of North Korea's suspected nuclear test site in P'unggye-yok Kilju county TAIPEI, FEB 12, 2013, SOURCE: AFP VAR Taiwan Seismology Center charts showing site of North Korean nuclear test and the tremor it caused WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 12, 2013, SOURCE: US POOL - NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES VAR State of the Union address SOUNDBITE 1 UNKNOWN LOCATIONS, NORTH KOREA, FILE IMAGES BROADCAST ON MAY 27, 2009, SOURCE: KOREAN CENTRAL BROADCASTING STATION -- NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL USE PURPOSES VAR North Korean military exercises, missile launches TOKYO, FEB 12, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV Set-up shots of Prof. Okonogi pointing at AFP Graphics map of North Korean test site SOUNDBITE 2 PYONGYANG, APRIL 13, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV People applaud as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un arrives on stage Kim Jong-Un and officials applauding BEIJING, FEB 12, 2013, SOURCE: AFP CU of a North Korean flag flying above the North Korean embassy in Beijing A Chinese paramilitary guard speaks on the phone outside the embassy Images of North Korea are displayed outside the embassy SEOUL, FEB 12, 2013, SOURCE: YONHAP NEWS AGENCY - NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES Various of people watching the news of North Korea nuclear test on big screens in Seoul station SOUNDBITE 3 MUSUDAN-RI, NORTH KOREA, FILE - APRIL 5, 2009, SOURCE: KOREAN CENTRAL BROADCASTING STATION -- NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES - Taepodong-2 rocket launch ------------------------------- AFP TEXT: NKorea-military-nuclear-weapons,lead-WRAP Obama vows to get tough with North Korea by Shaun Tandon WASHINGTON, Feb 13, 2013 (AFP) - President Barack Obama vowed "firm action" alongside US allies against North Korea and South Korea accelerated a planned upgrade to its offensive missiles after Pyongyang ignited global fury with its third nuclear test. China, North Korea's trade and financial lifeline, signed up to a UN Security Council statement accusing the communist state of standing in "grave violation" of UN resolutions amid global condemnation of Tuesday's blast. The Council highlighted its threat made last month -- after North Korea breached UN resolutions by firing a long-range rocket -- to take "significant action" if Pyongyang went ahead with the nuclear test. But North Korea, which analysts say has closed ranks under the young leadership of Kim Jong-Un, remained defiant after saying the underground test was forced upon it by US "hostility." "The DPRK (North Korea) will never be bound to any resolutions," said Jon Yong-Ryong, first secretary of North Korea's mission in Geneva, berating the UN resolutions as "entirely unreasonable." Any tougher UN action after years of sanctions against the recalcitrant North will depend on how far China is willing to push its ally. In his State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday, Obama stepped up the rhetoric. "America will continue to lead the effort to prevent the spread of the world's most dangerous weapons," he said. "The regime in North Korea must know that they will only achieve security and prosperity by meeting their international obligations." North Korea alarmed friends and foes alike less than a day before Obama's speech when it carried out its latest nuclear test, which US and South Korean monitors said was much more powerful than the previous tests in 2006 and 2009. Pyongyang boasted it had tested a "miniaturised" device, a claim that will fuel concerns it has moved closer to fitting a warhead on a ballistic missile. Experts were assessing whether the test involved uranium, giving Pyongyang a new and easier-to-sustain method for nuclear fission alongside its depleted stocks of plutonium. Obama said: "Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only isolate them further, as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defence and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats." Even China, which is keen to avoid the chaos that could ensue if the isolated North collapses, was stern in its condemnation of the test and summoned North Korea's ambassador in Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi discussed the test by phone with US Secretary of State John Kerry, the foreign ministry said, reiterating China's longtime stance of urging all sides to "avoid an escalation of the situation". But Chinese social media users berated authorities for what they saw as the relatively mild response. One commentator using the nickname Wuyuesanren slammed the idea that North Korea's nuclear program boosted China's security, likening Beijing's policy to "keeping a crazy dog to guard the house". North Korea "simply doesn't trust China and is not willing to be inhibited by China", wrote Zhuanshengben in another post. "For China alone to emphasise China and North Korea's so-called friendship, this is the ultimate stupidity." South Korea, which placed its US-backed military on alert after the test at North Korea's Punggye-ri site, said it would fast-track the development of longer-range ballistic missiles that could cover the whole of North Korea. "We will speed up the development of ballistic missiles with a range of 800 kilometers (500 miles)," defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters. Last October South Korea reached a deal with the United States to almost triple the range of its missile systems -- with Seoul arguing it needed an upgrade to counter the North's missile and nuclear programmes. Kim said the South would also speed up the deployment of a "kill chain" system capable of detecting, targeting and destroying North Korean missiles. Following the test, the head of South Korea's intelligence agency warned that Pyongyang may well carry out a further test or a ballistic missile launch in the coming days or weeks. The North itself insisted that any tightening of sanctions would trigger "even stronger second or third rounds of action." All 15 Council members including China backed Tuesday's UN statement and said they would "begin work immediately on appropriate measures". The test ignited yet another round of tension on the Korean Peninsula, where peace has never been formally declared since a 1950-53 war between the authoritarian north and pro-Western south.