McCain Statement on North Korea's Missile Launch

Washington D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) issued the following statement regarding North Korea's recent missile launch:

If the world needed new evidence of Kim Jong-il's irresponsible behavior, it now has it. The regime seems to be engaged once again in its longstanding habit of provoking crises to win attention and benefits. This time, however, it appears that the world is saying enough is enough.

With its recent missile launches, the North Korean regime has succeeded only in unifying the international community against Pyongyang's provocations. The launches should serve as the final wakeup call for the members of the six party talks, and there must be consequences. Toward that end, I was pleased to see the UN Security Council meet today in emergency session to discuss this issue, and I urge the Security Council to move ahead with a resolution condemning the launches and instituting sanctions against the regime. While no one wishes to harm the North Korean people who have suffered so terribly under the Kim family, we can and should have coordinated efforts against the regime leadership. These should include multilateral efforts along the lines of current U.S. activities, including denying access to the international banking system, preventing the proliferation of missile and WMD technology, and cracking down on counterfeiting and narcotics trafficking. Every country should join us in these efforts.

China and Russia, the two countries with the most leverage over North Korea, should realize that they share America's interest in a stable Korean peninsula and a secure northeast Asia. Given Pyongyang's repeated bouts of irresponsibility, I hope they will join us in pressuring the regime to change course. China and Russia should know that this is an issue of vital importance to the United States and that their posture will have a heavy impact on our bilateral relations.

To those who suggest we should offer benefits to North Korea beyond those already presented in the six party talks, or that we should now engage in direct talks with Pyongyang, I urge that we not reward the regime's threatening behavior. It would be the height of folly to reward this lawless rogue regime with diplomatic benefits, including the bilateral talks it seeks. In the 1990s we nurtured Kim Jong-il's expectation that threats of attack will garner benefits, when the United States agreed to provide fuel oil and construct two civilian nuclear reactors in return for a freeze on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs. Mr. Kim cheated on that agreement, and now the world faces a nuclear-armed North Korea. While the U.S. and our allies have presented incentives within the context of the six party talks, these can only go forward if North Korea gives up its nuclear program completely and verifiably. In the meantime, the world has seen the course Mr. Kim prefers, and we must respond accordingly.

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