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North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Song condemns the US’ seizure of the North Korean cargo vessel the Wise Honest in a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on May 21. (UN webcast screenshot)
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Kim Song holds press conference at UN headquarters in New York
North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Song held a May 21 press conference at the UN headquarters in New York to demand the immediate return of the Wise Honest, a North Korean cargo vessel seized by the US. Convening the press conference in the UN building’s briefing room at 10:15 am, Kim said, “The US’ seizure of our cargo vessel is patently illegal and unjust.” “The US must return it without delay,” he said. Denouncing the US’ seizure of the vessel as a violation of North Korea’s judicial rights, Kim said the North “regards the Wise Honest as our territory, where our sovereignty fully applies.” Referencing a statement issued on May 14 by a spokesperson for the North Korean Foreign Ministry, he said, “The US’ action is a continuation of the US style of calculation that seeks to bring us to submission with maximum pressure, as well as a complete repudiation of the basic spirit of the North Korea and the US’ June 12 Joint Statement in which they pledged to establish a new bilateral relationship.” In his demand for the vessel’s immediate return, Kim warned, “We will closely watch all of the US’ actions going forward.” After his statement, Kim was asked a number of questions by reporters, who inquired about what effect the US’ seizure of the vessel would have on North Korea-US relations, whether the two sides had been in contact toward a third bilateral summit, whether the vessel was carrying items in violation of UN sanctions, and whether he had any comments on the death of US university student Otto Warmbier. In response, Kim only stressed that “today’s press conference is about the vessel seizure” and reiterated that the North “will closely observe the US’ actions.” “I will answer other questions at another opportunity,” he said before exiting the briefing room. Press conferences by North Korea at the UN building are a rare occurrence. Analysts are interpreting Kim’s as an attempt to generate an international outcry and make an issue of the Wise Honest’s seizure. On May 17, North Korea sent a letter with similar content signed by Kim to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The letter stated that the US had recently “committed an unlawful and outrageous act of taking the DPRK's cargo ship to Samoa, linking the ship to the violation of American domestic law,” adding that the “act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws.” “Unilateral sanctions, such as the anti-DPRK ‘Sanctions Act’ based on the US domestic law which the US has employed as a ground of dispossession of the ship, are defined as an illegal act going against the UN Charter and the international laws, in accordance with the resolution adopted at the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly,” it continued. “[I]t is also a universally recognized principle of international law that in no case can a sovereign state be an object of jurisdiction of other countries,” it read. On May 9, the US Justice Department announced that the Wise Honest had been seized for transporting coal and heavy equipment in violation of US and UN sanctions and filed a civil suit in a New York federal court for its official confiscation. The 17,000-ton Wise Honest is reputed to be the second largest of North Korea’s marine vessels. While the US claimed that the announcement of its seizure and confiscation was unrelated to North Korea’s recent projectile test launches – including short-range missiles on May 4 and 9 – its timing had observers reading it as a message of intense pressure against Pyongyang. By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
