Media briefing by the Ambassador to Democratic People's Republic of Korea
03 Jul 2009
The Ambassador to Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Peter Hughes gave a briefing by video conference to the media, 3 July 2009.| Speaker: | Peter Hughes |
| Location: | Pyongyang |
The Ambassador to Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Peter Hughes gave a briefing by video conference to the media, 3 July 2009 from Pyongyang.
Read the transcript
Peter Hughes (PH): Good morning everybody, greetings from Pyongyang.
As you know, tensions on the Korean peninsula have been rising since the beginning of the year. The net result has been a gruelling international consensus that North Korea’s proliferation activities must be stopped.
On the 4th of April the DPRK conducted a satellite launch using ICBM technology. There was widespread condemnation and a Security Council presidency statement which called on the DPRK to abide by the terms of Security Council resolution 1718.
The DPRK reacted angrily, demanded that the UN apologise for criticising their legitimate right to space exploration and undermining their (indistinct). On the 25th of May the DPRK carried out a nuclear test but over the following few days fired a short, a number of short range missiles. The Security Council was (indistinct) in its response. China and Russia were actively involved in drafting UN resolution 1874 which was passed on the 12th of June. Their support meant that this was an unprecedently strong response that builds on Resolution 1718 and sends a clear signal to the DPRK that continued disregard for its international obligations will not be tolerated.
The DPRK responded to the Resolutions by calling is, quote, “Yet another vile product of the US led international offensive against the DPRK”, unquote.
They announced that they would take certain counter measures, that the would weaponise all of their plutonium, that they had already, you know, reprocessed one third of the spent fuel at Yongbyon and that they would commence uranium enrichment and that any attempt to blockade their country would be regarded as an act of war and met with a decisive military response.
With other member states the UK is now focusing on comprehensively and swiftly implementing the new measures in Security Council Resolution 1874.
This Resolution places DPRK’s trading activity under close scrutiny and includes important measures to clamp down on DPRK’s proliferation activities and there by the means with which it funds its nuclear and WMD programmes.
The population of DPRK is aware of the satellite launch and the nuclear test. They have been told that the US and its allies are intensifying the threat against DPRK and that the weapons are needed for their defence. The Korean people believe this, but at the same time they do not think they are about to go to war. They think that the strong deterrents the country has would be sufficient to maintain their security. Meanwhile they’re engaged in what has been termed the One Hundred and Fifty Day Battle where the whole population has been mobilised to increase productivity, particularly in agriculture, mining, rail transportation and consumer goods. This battle started on the 10th of May and will continue until the 10th of October.
I think that I should say that the humanitarian situation in this country is very dire. You will have seen reports that the regime ploughs money in to its palaces while ordinary North Koreans survive through the winter on one meal of thin soup per day. We are just entering the period between June and September when the food supplies traditionally run low in this country because they’re, they’re waiting for the autumn harvest.
We have already seen reports that in the North and the East in this country the daily cereal ration has been reduced to below two hundred grammes per day because of shortages. In the South and the West the spring crops of barley, wheat and potatoes are being harvested and this could help to alleviate the problem but it’s not clear whether the Government has the resources to move the food to where it’s needed the most.
North Korea’s scandalously used about one third of its GDP on armament, armaments and in developing nuclear weapons. These are resources that should have been used to develop the country’s economy and alleviate the food shortages. North Korean officials have told us that they want to tackle endemic poverty, then radically improve the social conditions by 2012, which is the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Kim il Sung. But it is impossible to see how that can be achieved, can, this can be achieved while such a large percentage of the country’s resources are diverted, diverted in to the military.
We are also very concerned by continual reports of serious, wide spread and systematic human rights violations in the DPRK. The regime subjects its citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives. They do not have the right to change their Government. Among other things there continue to be reports of extra judicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary detentions and political prisoners. We continue to raise these issues with the DPRK authorities at every oppur, opportunity, both bilaterally and through the EU.
Since the Resolution was passed on the 12th of June the DPRK have threatened further action. Yesterday two short range missiles were launched and you will have seen reports that there may be a launch of an ICBM in the coming days or weeks. We can not rule out that a further nuclear test will take place.
There has been a lot of speculation about the motivation behind these actions. Some think it is an attempt to attract the attention of Washington and for the DPRK to strengthen its hand before returning to negotiations. Others believe that the DPRK Leader Kim Jong-il is reasserting his power after suffering a stroke last year and could be paving the way for a successor.
There could be an element of all of these things in their actions but the tightly controlled nature of the regime means that we can not know for certain. The strong impression we have gained here in Pyongyang is that the DPRK has concluded that it needs a nuclear capability to survive in what it claims to be a region that is hostile to it.
The nuclear test in 2006 was considered to be only partially successful and it is possible that they decided that they needed to test the technology again. The same would apply to the missile launches. There could also be added focus on selling technology and assistance to other countries with nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions.
I think I’ll stop there and open up to questions if that is okay.
Convener: Fantastic. Thanks very much Peter. Yes.
Female Journalist (Japan): Mr Ambassador thank you. If I could start with the two points that you have mentioned, the possible launch of ICBM nuclear test and the succession? There are lots of reports on succession to his third son. Are you getting any indication in Pyongyang about succession? And what are the feelings that you are getting about a possible launch of ICBM?
PH: Okay, on the succession issue obviously we here have seen the international media speculation about Kim Jong-il’s third son. But it’s interesting and we should note that, because of the lack of free press, because of no access to the international media at all, the majority of the North Korean people do not know this is happening, and they do not know this is an, an issue.
The second point on an ICBM, all I can say is that we have seen no evidence as yet to state that there will be a launch within the next couple of days but that’s all I can say.
Female Journalist: Thank you.
Female Journalist (Nepal Television): In February this year the British FCO kind of invited delegates from the North Korean Workers Party to, for the first time, to the UK I understand, and they went to kind of Cambridge University and we heard that they looked at the kind of Air Bus facilities as well as, were planning to visit the Aldeburgh Nuclear Power Plant. Could you explain the background as well as the kind of purpose for their visit and for your invitation to them?
PH: Okay, that particular delegation was jointly invited by the FCO and by Glyn Ford, a Member of the European Party, and the main purpose behind that was for them to establish links with Parliament and with political parties and to see how the UK works, to see how we tackle issues such as sustainable energy, to go to sustainable agricultural areas, basically to show them what we have and how we tackle issues.
Male Journalist (British Satellite News): Can I just ask you, in the light of what’s happening what representations has the Foreign Office made or the British Government made to North Korean authorities? What’s been their response and where do we kind of go from here?
PH: Okay, our Minister has spoken twice to the DPRK Ambassador in London to make our position very clear and our condemnation very clear of the actions that have been taken. I have also spoken directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here and passed the same messages. The response from the DPRK has been that the threat towards their country is intensifying and they have no other option but to strengthen their deterrents.
Simeon Paterson (Tokyo Broadcasting System): To come back to the question of succession, what is the UK doing in preparation for that given that there are, you know, persistent reports that that’s likely to happen?
PH: I think, I think it, as far as I’m aware we are in the process of looking at how we may respond to a succession but it’s far from a done deal. As is said the Korean people don’t know about the succession and I think we, we are doing some planning but it’s very much in its embryonic stage.
Male Journalist (South Korea): North Korea fired more short range missiles yesterday. What is the, in, what is the reaction Pyongyang and do the North Korean people know of the launches?
PH: The answer to both your questions is that the North Korean people do not know about these launches.
Journalist: Do you see any way to engage the North Korean Government in talks, get talk going?
PH: When ever I have met the North Koreans, and I know when ever our Minister has met with them in London, we have (indistinct) hard for them to re engage in negotiations. I’m also aware that the other members of the Six Party Talks have done the same thing. There is pressure being brought to bear to persuade them to return to negotiations.
Female Journalist (Sky News): You talked through a couple of options about the psychology of all of this and why it’s happening but actually what’s your hunch, what’s your sense about the way things are going and why? And also about the kind of mental state of Kim Jong-il right now as he, he sort of, you know sort of a few months ago out for the first time et cetera, what do you have to say about that?
PH: What is happening and why? I think I covered that by saying that our impression here is that Pyongyang has decided that it is being threatened from its neighbours and needs to have a strong deterrent.
The psychology of Kim Jong-il I am, I really am not qualified, qualified to comment on that but if it is true that he’s had a stroke and it, and, and that would I think starkly remind him of his mortality, then it is very possible that he will be thinking about the succession.
Bridget Kendall (BBC): This idea that North Korea has decided that it’s being threatened by its neighbours, how do you understand that when just a year ago there were Six Party Talks, they were dismantling facilities, why this switch?
PH: The best answer I can give you on that is that the, the DPRK Government has stated on a number of occasions in the last few months that it believes that the US and its allies are deliberately increasing the tension on the peninsular. They believe that the two major exercises, joint exercises, carried out by the US and, and the Republic of Korea in March were a deliberate attempt to practice for invading their country, and they have concluded that they have no other purpose but to increase their deterrent.
Male Journalist (Japanese TV Osaka): I’d like to know about Kim Jong-un, the successor of Kim Jong-il. There are rumours that a song to honour Kim Jong -un is being played around the country recently. Can you confirm this and have you been, heard this?
PH: I have heard these rumours as well. A lot of the Koreans I have asked have not heard the song.
Dave Ackroyd (Telegraph): In terms of North Korea, you said earlier that North Korea said the blockade would be an act of war and I was wondering how far away a ship that (indistinct) commissioned or owned would have to be for it to consider that as an act of war.
PH: On a separate occasion they made clear that any attempt to board or search their ships would also be, would be taken as an act of war.
Male Journalist (Tokyo News): I have heard the kind of (indistinct) for investing (indistinct) in the UK, City of London, and that’s, that’s a fund, a private fund that (indistinct) British (indistinct) in Pyongyang. Do you have idea who (indistinct) their current partners?
PH: I am not aware of any private fund in the UK at all.
Gavin Cordon (Press Association): Given the sort of bunker mentality that you described in the regime, I mean what sort of effect can international sanctions really have on their actions?
PH: I think the important thing about sanctions is that they are part of a wider frame work of measures which taken together will increase the pressure on the DPRK to cease its pursuit of WMD. And I should make very clear that every sanction is carefully calibrated to achieve maximum coercive effect on the targets while at the same time avoiding any adverse humanitarian effects on the general population.
Female Journalist (Japan Broadcasting NHK): In your dealings with the DPRK representative do you see any desire on their part at the moment although they are, they say, they have decided that they are under threat, that they would like to restart negotiation at all, try to find that they need to (indistinct) find ways to (indistinct)?
PH: No I have seen no willingness on their part to reengage in negotiations what so ever.
Female Journalist: If I could ask you about the North Koreans’ nuclear ambition? How serious do you think it is? I mean is it, it used to be considered that the nuclear ambition was sort of like a card to negotiate with the Americans. Do you find that, that they are much more serious after what they saw happened to Iraq?
PH: In answer to that I think what I should say is that the North Koreans themselves have said that they will not give up their nuclear weapons until such time as there is global disarmament and that the North, sorry, the Korean Peninsula has been completely cleared from all nuclear weapons including the US nuclear umbrella.
Female Journalist (Nippon Television): I was wondering if you could tell us your knowledge of Kim Jong-il’s health at the moment.
PH: I think we’ve all seen the, the, the coverage that was given to Kim Jong-il’s attendance at the Supreme People’s Assembly earlier this year. It is clear from that that he is frail, that he has aged very quickly and that he has lost a considerable amount of weight. That is all I can say. We have no other way of accessing information about his health.
Simeon Paterson: How are you able to get information in North Korea? I mean a lot of what you said to us is, is, well the DPRK has put out themselves, I mean, what, what are your sources for this operation?
PH: One of the major restrictions we face here is that, is gaining information, it’s very difficult. Whenever we can we, we go out of the city and try to talk to as many Koreans as we can about their perceptions of what is happening. But we’re very tightly constrained in our movements and we get no information from the Government whatsoever.
Robin Millard (AFP): If there is no willingness on the Korean side to re enter negotiations how effective do you think further sanctions can be?
PH: As I said earlier sanctions together with the wider frame work of measures we hope will put sufficient pressure on the DPRK to reconsider its position on negotiations.
Male Journalist: Where do we go diplomatically from here then? Where, what, what’s the, what’s the next strategy? Is there a strategy in place?
PH: The next steps are for us to, and our partners in the UN, to effectively and swiftly implement the measures put out under UN Security Council Resolution 1874.
Bridget Kendall (BBC): With regard to North Korea’s warning that it would consider boarding or searching its ships an act of war, it has talked about acts of war in the past, not this time round, the previous time before we got to the Six Party Talks, so how dangerous do you think such an action would be, if you’re talking about effectively and swiftly executing the provisions of the Security Council Resolution?
PH: Boarding and searching ships are only one of the provisions I should say. But you’re quite right, in the past the North Koreans have, have threatened such acts and they have not taken such action. The thing about North Korea however is its unpredictability. You can not say that it will never so something.
BK: So, could I just follow up on that to say I understand your very restricted access to information but you are there in Pyongyang, what is your considered view then of what they could potentially do, what might this act of war mean?
PH: I think my best guess at the moment would be some kind of restricted (indistinct) conflict, perhaps in the West Sea along the Northern Limit Line where they have, in the past there have been naval engagements.
Convener: Any further questions?
Journalist: The (indistinct) has talked about diminished contribution from the international community and restriction of the funding that they were, they are less able to provide for the population (indistinct). What is your thoughts on that?
PH: I think if I could put that in to the context that, that the United States had in fact offered to provide five hundred thousand tonnes of food aid to, to North Korea. Approximately three hundred and ninety thousand tonnes of that are still on offer, but the North Koreans have rejected it, as indeed they, they, they expelled the US NGO’s who were distributing one hundred thousand tonnes of that food aid. So the food is on offer, it’s the North Koreans that have refused to take it.
Female Journalist (Japan): Are you free Peter to talk with out restrictions now and this is your first broadcast in this way and how well do you think this is going to go down with the North Korean authorities?
PH: I think I’m going to have to wait and see. But I am free to talk to anybody who will talk to me. The problem is who is willing to talk to me.
Convener: Okay. I’ll just, thank you very much Peter. I’ll just let Julia wrap up, keep on (indistinct) remarks and if, as long as there are no more questions here. Julia?
Julia: Yeah, I just wanted to add one final word and we talked a lot about the, the difficulty of convincing the North Koreans to come back to, to the negotiating table. And I think it’s also important to recognise that what the UN Security Council Resolution 1874 does is to respond very firmly to these signs of North Korea increasing its nuclear proliferations.
So what the Resolution does is to put North Korea’s proliferation, weapons of mass destruction, programme under much closer scrutiny and, and should make it much more difficult for it to continue to pursue this path. And that’s a very sort of urgent (indistinct) of (indistinct), and however difficult or however complex it may be to implement it the fact is it, it will place greater restrictions on North Korea’s ability to, to renew its programmes, to continue with import and export of the different kinds of (indistinct) weapons of mass destruction so (indistinct)…
PH: Thank you.
Convener: Okay, thanks very much.
