RI says N. Korea move 'regrettable'<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Indonesia fell short of condemning North Korea for test-firing a
\nmissile on Tuesday, which could hamper a peaceful settlement to
\nthe nuclear stand-off on the Peninsula.<\/p>\n
Calling the move regrettable, Indonesian Minister of Foreign
\nAffairs Hassan Wirayuda called on both sides to refrain from such
\nprovocative acts.<\/p>\n
\"The firing of the missile could complicate the situation and
\nwe hope direct parties concerned exercise self-restraint to focus
\non efforts to find a peaceful solution,\" Hassan said on the
\nsidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit here.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been attempting to become a mediator between
\nPyongyang, Seoul and Washington to return to the negotiating
\ntable since the nuclear crisis escalated dangerously on the
\nPeninsula in late January.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has sent a special envoy, Nana Sutresna, to Pyongyang
\nand Seoul in response to a North Korean request for Indonesia's
\nhelp after Washington increased its threats against Pyongyang.<\/p>\n
The U.S. accused North Korea of having the ability to produce
\nlong-range missiles with nuclear warheads in contravention of
\nseveral international treaties. The U.S. is also pressuring Iraq
\nto disarm, and has placed tens of thousands of soldiers on Iraq's
\ndoorstep as a last resort in case Saddam Hussein resists
\ndisarmament. There are already tens of thousands of U.S.
\nsoldiers on the Korean peninsula.<\/p>\n
To further pressure Pyongyang, President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri met with North Korea's President of the People's
\nAssembly Kim Yong-nam on the sidelines of their Malaysian visit.<\/p>\n
On the meeting with Megawati, Kim maintained Pyongyang's
\nstance to refuse any attempt to bring the issue before an
\ninternational forum. Washington is hoping for the involvement of
\nthe United Nations Security Council on the issue.<\/p>\n
\"The crisis is difficult as direct parties concerned as of now
\nhave come up with no mechanisms to settle the dispute through
\ndialog,\" Hassan remarked.<\/p>\n
The minister further disclosed that NAM member countries had
\nagreed to reject the production of weapons of mass destruction
\nand asked Pyongyang to reconsider its defiant withdrawal from the
\nnuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) this month.<\/p>\n
\"It was a very difficult discussion during the meeting here as
\nthe North Korean delegates expressed their objection if there was
\na reference to its participation in the NPT,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia chaired the disarmament committee during the NAM
\nsummit.<\/p>\n
The North Korean delegation expressed strong rejection to the
\noriginal statement of NAM regarding the issue, which asked
\nPyongyang to be more serious about its nuclear disarmament.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-says-n-korea-move-regrettable-1447893297",
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