RI says N. Korea move 'regrettable'
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur
Indonesia fell short of condemning North Korea for test-firing a missile on Tuesday, which could hamper a peaceful settlement to the nuclear stand-off on the Peninsula.
Calling the move regrettable, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda called on both sides to refrain from such provocative acts.
"The firing of the missile could complicate the situation and we hope direct parties concerned exercise self-restraint to focus on efforts to find a peaceful solution," Hassan said on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit here.
Indonesia has been attempting to become a mediator between Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington to return to the negotiating table since the nuclear crisis escalated dangerously on the Peninsula in late January.
Jakarta has sent a special envoy, Nana Sutresna, to Pyongyang and Seoul in response to a North Korean request for Indonesia's help after Washington increased its threats against Pyongyang.
The U.S. accused North Korea of having the ability to produce long-range missiles with nuclear warheads in contravention of several international treaties. The U.S. is also pressuring Iraq to disarm, and has placed tens of thousands of soldiers on Iraq's doorstep as a last resort in case Saddam Hussein resists disarmament. There are already tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers on the Korean peninsula.
To further pressure Pyongyang, President Megawati Soekarnoputri met with North Korea's President of the People's Assembly Kim Yong-nam on the sidelines of their Malaysian visit.
On the meeting with Megawati, Kim maintained Pyongyang's stance to refuse any attempt to bring the issue before an international forum. Washington is hoping for the involvement of the United Nations Security Council on the issue.
"The crisis is difficult as direct parties concerned as of now have come up with no mechanisms to settle the dispute through dialog," Hassan remarked.
The minister further disclosed that NAM member countries had agreed to reject the production of weapons of mass destruction and asked Pyongyang to reconsider its defiant withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) this month.
"It was a very difficult discussion during the meeting here as the North Korean delegates expressed their objection if there was a reference to its participation in the NPT," Hassan said.
Indonesia chaired the disarmament committee during the NAM summit.
The North Korean delegation expressed strong rejection to the original statement of NAM regarding the issue, which asked Pyongyang to be more serious about its nuclear disarmament.