|
|
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Arroyo condemns N. Korea's missile test (2:00 p.m.)
MANILA - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo joined other nations in condemning the missile tests of North Korea and urging that nation to refrain from further comprising the peace and security of the region.
"The world has had enough of weapons of mass destruction; and it is high time to walk away from armed confrontation and lend more focus in addressing the welfare of every human being and the growing economic disparity among nations," Arroyo said.
The Philippine Stock Market on the other hand reacted to the security jitter spawned by the missile testing of North Korea launched on Wednesday. Stocks fell 1.5 percent.
North Korea test-fired seven missiles on Wednesday, triggering international condemnation. The missiles apparently fell into the sea without causing damage or injuries. One of the missiles was believed to be the Taepodong-2, which can reach parts of the United States.
President Arroyo said, "As a peace-loving nation and a member of the UN Security Council, we shall continue be at the forefront of supporting moves to ensure world security and peaceful co-existence among all nations."
The Bush administration said the world learned lessons from North Korea's failed test of a long-range missile that could threaten US shores, yet it warned that the secretive communist regime could use the launch to improve its aim next time.
"One thing we have learned is that the rocket didn't stay up for very long," President George W. Bush said Wednesday. "It tumbled into the sea."
On Wednesday night, Bush spoke by phone to Japan and South Korea's leaders and stressed the need for a unified response in the United Nations and elsewhere to the North's missile tests, the White House said in a statement. He also told the leaders that he seeks a diplomatic solution through the six-party talks, which had sought to deal with North Korea's nuclear ambitions but were suspended last fall.
China and Russia on Wednesday resisted an attempt by the United States, Japan and Britain to impose UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea.
Russia and China, which have bargained alongside the United States to end North Korea's nuclear program, said only diplomacy could halt the isolated regime's nuclear and rocket development programs.
Japan, within range of proven North Korean missiles, circulated a Security Council resolution that would ban any country from transferring funds, material and technology that could be used in North Korea's missile and weapons of mass destruction programs.
China, the North's closest ally, and Russia, which has been trying to re-establish Soviet-era ties with Pyongyang, favor a weaker council statement with no threat of sanctions. Both countries hold veto power on the council.
North Korea, which has proclaimed itself a nuclear weapons state, has said sanctions would amount to a declaration of war.(AP/Sunnex) |
|
|
|
