DPRK
Launch
Triggers SC
Meeting,
France Wants
Resolution on
"Rocket That
Could"
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 12, updated
--
After North
Korea's
launch, the UN
Security
Council
scheduled a
meeting for
Wednesday
morning.
Media, mostly
Japanese,
camped out in
front of the
Council. The
first
Permanent
Representative
to stop and
speak was
Gerard Araud
of France.
But
a
non-Permanent
Five diplomat
stopped and
joked to Inner
City Press
about the
"little
missile that
could," and
said there was
no indication
of what Araud
said he wants:
a resolution
as opposed to
a Press
Statement or
Presidential
Statement,
both of which
require
consensus.
The
Permanent
Representative
of South
Korea, which
formally joins
the
Security
Council on
January 1,
walked in and
told the
press, "I'll
see you
later."
China's Li
Baodong said
the same.
Australia's
Permanent
Representative
Gary Quinlan,
also beginning
on January 1,
said of the
launch, "We're
not happy with
it."
Here
is what
France's
Gerard Araud
said (the
first time)
--
(We
are with) our
Korean and
Japanese
friends and
allies which
are on the
front line. We
are trusting
also of course
the other
countries of
the group of
the 6
countries. But
we need to
have a strong
reaction.
It's a clear
violation of
the resolution
1874, and so
we do think
it's important
that the
Security
Council meets
and reacts and
we are
in favor of as
strong a
reaction as
it's possible.
But as you
know
there are
nuances
between the
members of the
Security
Council. So
we'll see what
our friends
are going to
ask us and our
friends are
going to
react. France
is not on the
front line but
we are good
friends of the
US, South
Korea, Japan
and we want to
work of course
with China and
Russia. But I
do think that
there will be
a reaction.
Would
the
preferred
reaction be a
resolution?
France
would prefer,
will consider
that we need a
resolution,
after this
blatant
violation of
resolution but
again we have
to see how
things
are going to
go at the
Council today.
It
is understood
that Germany,
too, would
prefer a
resolution.
The UK's
Mark Lyall
Grant said he
wants a rapid
reaction, but
did not use
the
word
resolution.
Watch this
site.
Update
of 11:10 am --
Araud came
back for a
second talk to
the press,
said France
wants a fast
reaction
today, then
maybe a
resolution. As
he spoke, US
Ambassador
Susan Rice
passed, joking
about "the
voluble French
Ambassador"
then went into
the Council.
Update
of 11:50 am --
a
self-described
"Security
Council
diplomat"
tells press
that the idea
of all who've
spoken in the
consultations
including
China and
Russia is
"press
elements." Is
that less than
a Press
Statement?
It's been done
before.
, 
