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At UN, N. Korea's Quiet March Joining of Outer
Space Convention Now Scrutinized
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
April 6 -- In a little-noticed
ceremony last month, North Korean diplomat Pak Tok Hun signed his
country onto
the UN's
Convention on the Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
A
photograph was taken, of Pak Tok Hun with the chief of the UN Treaty
Section,
Annebeth Rosenboom. Assession document here. Four
weeks later North Korea would launch a Taepodong-2
missile over Japan, triggering Tokyo's request mere minutes later for
an urgent
meeting of the UN Security Council.
As
reported in real time by Inner City Press, Japan's request was quickly
granted,
and an April 5 meeting held. But at the
meeting China, Russia and other
non-permanent members of the Council argued that North Korea was
entitled to
use a Taepodong-2 missile to launch what it said was a satellite "into
outer space." The little-noticed signing because significant. Why was
it
not more noticed at the time, including by UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon?
Several UN member states are asking the question.
Pak Tok Hun and UN's Annebeth Rosenboom at the signing last month,
missile not shown
Meanwhile
on Monday in the UN, the Deputy Permanent Representatives of China and
Russia
were seen shaking hands outside the meeting of the Permanent Five
members and
Japan. This was seen as making the sanctions resolution requested by
Japan less
likely.
The U.S.
says it is strongly supporting Japan's request. But diplomats
from Sudan and Cuba, among others, are gleefully questioning the U.S.'s
commitment to Japan, sources say. They say the U.S. has become more
concerned
with China, including for business reasons. If the Japanese electorate
become
more disillusioned with the UN, these sources ask, will the country
unquestioning
keep up its status as the second larges donor to the UN?
Click here
for a new YouTube video, mostly UN Headquarters footage, about civilian
deaths
in Sri Lanka.
Click here for Inner City
Press' March 27 UN debate
Click here for Inner City
Press March 12 UN (and AIG
bailout) debate
Click here for Inner City
Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click
here
for Feb.
12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
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