Pyongyang crashes Seoul nuclear summit
North Korea’s nuclear program is not on the formal agenda of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, which kicks off today. Instead, the more than fifty world leaders assembling in Korea will discuss nuclear terrorism, the safety of nuclear facilities, and preventing illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. But North Korea’s announcement of a mid-April "satellite" launch–which ...
North Korea's nuclear program is not on the formal agenda of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, which kicks off today. Instead, the more than fifty world leaders assembling in Korea will discuss nuclear terrorism, the safety of nuclear facilities, and preventing illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. But North Korea's announcement of a mid-April "satellite" launch--which others insist is a ballistic missile test that would violate UN Security Council resolutions--has made it a center of attention:
North Korea’s nuclear program is not on the formal agenda of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, which kicks off today. Instead, the more than fifty world leaders assembling in Korea will discuss nuclear terrorism, the safety of nuclear facilities, and preventing illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. But North Korea’s announcement of a mid-April "satellite" launch–which others insist is a ballistic missile test that would violate UN Security Council resolutions–has made it a center of attention:
Although it is not on the agenda of the formal summit, North Korea’s recent announcement that it will launch a satellite into space using a long-range rocket has captured the attention of the assembled leaders. The North says this is part of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the April 15 birth of its late founder and president, Kim Il Sung.
The U.N., U.S., European Union, Russia and Japan have warned North Korea that its scheduled rocket launch is in violation of U.N. resolutions, and they have urged Pyongyang to abandon the plan. Even North Korea’s ally China has expressed concern that a launch would undermine stability in the region.
If the summit will likely accentuate North Korea’s isolation, it also extends South Korea’s recent fervent embrace of official multilateralism, a trend Seoul itself is trumpeting:
Korea has established its status as an advanced country by securing the hosting of a whole range of international meetings in the economic, cultural, and sports fields including the hosting of the 2010 G20 Seoul Summit. The holding of the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit means that Korea has gained even greater standing in the international community in the security field as well. In addition, it is meaningful that Korea will play a leading role in establishing global governance in the security and political fields just as it played a significant role in the economic field through the hosting of the 2010 G20 Seoul Summit.
David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist
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