China will inspect North Korean cargo as mandated in the U.N. Security Council resolution but is not willing to conduct searches on the high seas, its envoy to the United Nations said Monday.
"Inspections, yes. But inspection is different from interception and interdiction," Amb. Wang Guangya told reporters.
"I think in that area that different countries will do it in different ways."
But he said China is committed to implementing the resolution passed unanimously Saturday.
"This is a Security Council resolution under Chapter 7, under Article 41. Therefore, I think that the resolution has to be implemented," said Wang.
Article 41 refers to the section of U.N. Charter that allows non-military measures by U.N. members states.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said in TV interviews early Monday that China has already intensified inspections at its border with North Korea, searching trucks and other cargo passing through.
The U.N. resolution sanctions North Korea for the nuclear weapon test it claimed a week ago was conducted successfully. The office of the director for national intelligence on Monday formally confirmed that there indeed was a nuclear explosion, but the yield was less than one kiloton. A successful detonation usually measures between five and 15 kilotons.
Just minutes after the resolution was passed, Wang came out and said his government would not participate in the interdiction, a key part of the document that would allow stops and searches of North Korean cargo not just at ports but in open seas to seek out shipments of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Wang emphasized that the resolution defines inspections to be those in accordance with international law "as necessary."
The Chinese envoy had previously made clear that his government has problems with the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, an exercise launched in 2003 and now participated in by more than 70 countries.
The initiative allows boarding of ships to seek out WMD material.
New York, Oct. 16 (Yonhap New)
China agrees to inspection of N.K. cargo but not interdiction |
