On October 3rd, North Korea declared the nuclear test enforcement plan via the North Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesman, and created a qualitatively different situation on the Korean Peninsula that would spill over into the entire region. In the declaration, North Korea clarified that “The Democratic People's Republic of Korea would conduct a nuclear test under conditions where safety is firmly guaranteed.”
Although the ‘Announcement’ didn’t represent the exact date of the nuclear test, it has been shown that whenever North Korea feel there is no possibility for a diplomatic solution, they show their intention to enforce the nuclear test to secure military restraint.

Most of all, we want to make it clear to North Korea that 'nuclear test proceeding' cannot solve any problems.  Instead, Nuclear test rather incites the United States to enforce additional restraints and rather give more justification to have military sanctions toward North Korea; consequently, it will lead the situation into uncontrollable emergency. They have to keep in mind that nuclear development and nuclear tests are obviously against the mutual agreement of North- South as well as the norm of international society.

The North Korean government authorities must realize the fact 'a series of missile tests' on July, and '2.10  nuclear state declaration' were very uncooperative. Those events reduced the public opinion supporting the peaceful settlement; they also strengthened the position of 'hawks' against North Korea and 'conservatism' for the paradigm of cold war.  A Nuclear test will have enormous influence on the entire world. Therefore, in any occasion, conducting the nuclear test will be unacceptable.

We have to emphasize that the United States has to converse the line of North Korea policy especially about the 'monetary control' toward North Korea, which would  make the situation worse. Enormous pressure from the 'Bush administration’s hard-line policy' even made other area neighbors' efforts void.  For that reason, it would be unacceptable if the United States tries to enforce  additional restraints or any military action toward North Korea.

The Bush administration consistently keeps the hard-line policy with enormous pressure on North Korea, so that they made the Clinton administration’s negotiation outcome void . In addition, soon after the compromising of ‘9.19 joint statement’, the United States enforced financial sanctions upon North Korea. Furthermore, just after the Korea and United States' summit talk in the September, the United States requested to extend the additional restraints to Japan and Australia.

North Korea’s  'test firing of a missile' in July, and 'declaration of the nuclear test' in October could be the evidence that proves the failure of the Bush administration's North Korea policy. Therefore, the Bush administration has to stop oppression toward North Korea. Then, they have to show flexibility in their financial sanctions, and try to reconvene talks with North Korea.

We urge the Korea administration and all area neighbor countries to put more efforts into reconvening the six-party talks tempting to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear program. All the involved countries must not make counteractions that make the situation any worse.

Especially the Korean governemnt has to ask itself whether we have played an appropriate role as a mediator or not;  we have to stop taking emergency measures as well.

The Korean government must demand that the United States change their North Korea policy, and try to recover the North-South relations simultaneously. The Korean government must prepare active plans such as 'dispatching a special envoy' or 'South-North Korean summit talks.' If South Korea deals well with this crisis as an active actor, it would be possible to recover the mutual trust with North Korea, and we could manage the role to reverse the bad situation to a good opportunity.

Again, in any occasion, peaceful settlement of the nuclear problem and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula are uncompromising principles. Therefore, the government authorities, and civil societies have to spread out the consistent policy to overcome the nuclear issues.


October 4th, 2006
Civil Network for a peaceful Korea