S.Korea formally refers Cheonan case to UNSC, President Lee
S.Korea formally refers Cheonan case to UNSC, President Lee
SINGAPORE (Xinhua) — South Korean President Lee Myung- bak said Friday that his country has formally referred the case of a warship sinking to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
“Today, the Republic of Korea government referred the matter of North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)’s attack against the Cheonan to the United Nations Security Council,” Lee said while delivering a keynote speech at the 9th International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit in Singapore.
Lee urged the DPRK to admit its “wrongdoing, and pledge never again to engage in such reprehensible action”.
Lee also urged the DPRK to give up the nuclear weapons development, saying that buying time to build nuclear weapons is not going to help the DPRK to achieve its goal of becoming a so- called strong nation, and it’s never too late for the DPRK to give up their nuclear ambitions.
He added that the DPRK’s nuclear weapons ambition and the recent Cheonan case are not matters pertaining only to South Korea, but are “serious threats to peace, stability and prosperity of Northeast Asia and global security.”
“The Korean Peninsula must not remain as a place synonymous with conflict, strife and division. It must now become the cradle of peace in Northeast Asia.” Lee added.
Lee said peace in the 21st century must not simply mean the absence of violence and war, noting that genuine and lasting peace in this century must be a peace where the causes of conflict are fundamentally addressed.
“We must actively pursue the kind of peace where everyone can realize their vision of a better life, where freedom and liberty is protected and a prosperous future is ensured”, he said.
In terms of the six-party talks, Lee noted that all those taking part, together with the international community, must work together. He said that people should not be concerned with when the six-party talks resumes. “Instead, we must hammer out a grand bargain to fundamentally resolve the North Korean issue through the six-party talks.”
The security summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue, is held in Singapore from June 4-6. Delegations from 28 countries and regions, with more than 300 delegates including defense ministers, chiefs of defense staff, and other senior security policy-makers, attended the summit.
On March 26, South Korea’s 1,200-ton Navy frigate “Cheonan”, with 104 crew members onboard, went down off the South Korean island of Baekryeong off the west coast due to an unexplained explosion that split it into two. Fourth-six sailors were killed.
Seoul said after completing investigations that the warship was torpedoed by the DPRK. But Pyongyang denied its involvement in the incident.
English.news.cn 2010-06-04 20:43:52
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on Jun 20 2010. Filed under Asia.
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