Newswire - Conn. Congressmen Comment on North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Claims

NKOREA

The New London Day

Margaret Stevenson

Boston University Washington News Service

October 10, 2006

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 —Members of the Connecticut congressional delegation this week called for the U.S. to work with the United Nations and North Korea’s neighbors to deal with the rogue regime.

“The latest news about North Korea testing a nuclear weapon brings them one step closer to a full blown nuclear weapons program,” said Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “This is an extremely dangerous development.”

North Korea announced Monday that it had performed an underground nuclear weapons test. While concern about North Korea is not new, Monday’s announcement prompted alarm throughout the nation and around the world

“North Korea’s explosion of a nuclear device is an affront to the United Nations, the world community and to all those who hoped to offer sensible alternatives to their nuclear ambitions,” Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.) said Monday.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) said the United States has known for some time that the North Koreans have had enough nuclear fuel to build as many as 10 or 11 nuclear weapons of the size that were used on Hiroshima.

 “Now that they have used some of that fuel to test a nuclear device, it tells us again that we live in a dangerous world, that we have got to work with our allies and we’ve got to work with each other,” said Lieberman, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Simmons, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, suggested several approaches to dealing with North Korea.

“First, we must continue to support the engagement of the world community, especially China and Russia to stifle North Korea’s nuclear plan,” Simmons said. “Second, we must continue to develop our own missile defenses.”

Simmons also said the United States needs to “strengthen” its regional partners like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

“Finally we need to consider stopping any and all international programs which allow North Korea to divert resources away from humanitarian aid and towards nuclear weapons,” Simmons added.

Dodd accused the Bush administration of spending the last five years sitting on the sidelines while North Korea developed its program.

“It’s now time for them to get serious and use the United States’ influence with China and South Korea to bring North Korea to the table,” he said.

Lieberman stressed the importance of working with the United Nations Security Council and the nations in that region.

“I think we are stronger when we are working with the other nations in the region and we don’t lose any strength by sitting down with the North Koreans and trying to negotiate the end of their nuclear program,” Lieberman said.

“We have to stick with them as we try to get [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-Il  and the North Koreans to do away with this capacity that they have now shown that they have,” Lieberman said.

Ted Bromund, Yale University’s associate director of International Security Studies, predicted that the test will tighten U.S. alliances with the democracies in the region, lead to no concessions from anyone, and encourage China to move more rapidly away from its remaining support for North Korea.

He added that it is no coincidence the test took place right after a South Korean was all but assured he would become the next United Nations Secretary-General.

“The test is simply another way of stepping up the pressure on the United States to make concessions, and on South Korea to disengage from its alliance with the U.S.,” Bromund said. “It is also a way of gathering information that North Korea may need to perfect its nuclear capable missiles which already have the range to reach Japan and are close to being able to reach the United States.”

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