Rudd govt discusses North Korea's threat

Australia has spoken to South Korea, Japan and the United States about the
increasing regional threat posed by North Korea's "reckless" atomic and missile
tests.
The Rudd government warned events of the past two days suggested North Korea could
be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke to leaders in Japan and South Korea on Tuesday,
discussing what action, particularly in the United Nations, should be taken in
response to North Korea.
North Korea sparked further international outrage on Tuesday when it fired two
short-range missiles, a day after an apparent underground nuclear test and the
firing of another missile.
Mr Rudd called on the international community to do what it could to thwart North
Korea's future nuclear ambitions, particularly efforts to marry nuclear weapons with
an effective long-range delivery vehicle.
"North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program are an increasing
threat to regional security, to Australia's national security and to the wider
international community," he told parliament.
"We must work with our friends around the region on this threat now, to ensure that
this emerging threat is contained in the future.
"All indications point to this being another deliberate step by North Korea in its
systematic efforts to acquire a nuclear capability and the means of delivering it,"
Mr Rudd said.
A spokesperson for Mr Rudd said he and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had
agreed on the danger North Korea posed to the region.
"The leaders agreed on the need for a robust response in the United Nations to North
Korea and agreed to work together to ensure such an outcome was achieved," the
spokesperson said.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to consider the options after
Pyongyang's test of a nuclear device on Monday, which according to Russian estimates
was almost as powerful as the atom bombs that flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
WWII.
The council called the test a "clear violation" of international law and immediately
began working on a new resolution that could impose new sanctions on the secretive
North, which has now tested two nuclear bombs in three years.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull warned North Korea was "dangerously unpredictable".
"In effect, the North Korean regime has returned to its default setting of
brinkmanship and confrontation," he told parliament.
"Its delinquent behaviour not only challenges the authority of the United Nations
Security Council but also represents a profound threat to peace and security in our
region."
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith called for an immediate resumption of six-party talks
aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
He suggested the international community should consider further sanctions against
North Korea.
Australia, he said, had "gone to the outer limits" of bans put in place under
Security Council resolution 1718, adopted after Pyongyang's 2006 nuclear test.
"I think there are two areas that we need to contemplate. One is more members of the
international community fully implementing the provisions of 1718," Mr Smith told
reporters.
"And secondly, whether it is open to the international community through the
security council, to contemplate greater and additional sanctions, in particular,
financial sanctions."