USUN STATEMENT FOR PLENARY VOTE ON KOREAN

UNCLAS STATE 150698 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PARM KN KS SUBJECT: USUN STATEMENT FOR PLENARY VOTE ON KOREAN PENINSULA RESOLUTION REF: STATE 149519 ¶1. SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST. The UN General Assembly agenda for October 31 will include passage of a resolution jointly introduced by the Republic of Korea and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, entitled "Peace, Security and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula." USUN was instructed in reftel to support and vote for this resolution but not to co-sponsor it, absent a South Korean request for U.S. co-sponsorship. The Republic of Korea has requested that USUN make a statement at the time of the vote on the resolution, which is expected to pass by consensus. USUN should use material in para 2 below in making an Explanation of Vote (EOV) at the time of the vote. End of Summary and Action Request. ¶2. Begin text. The United States is pleased to support the draft resolution on "Peace, Security and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula," which recognizes that dialogue and cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the DPRK is essential not only to better relations on the peninsula but also to promote peace and stability in the region and beyond. The United States has consistently encouraged such dialogue. We welcomed the historic inter-Korean Summit that was held earlier this month and the Joint Declaration, adopted at that meeting, which outlines an ambitious agenda to improve relations and develop cooperative mechanisms on the Korean Peninsula. We believe that this dialogue process is both supportive of and complementary to progress in the denuclearization of North Korea through the Six-Party Talks. The September 2005 Six-Party Joint Statement calls for the directly-related parties to negotiate a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula at an appropriate separate forum -- a goal which is also enunciated in the inter-Korean Joint Declaration. The United States believes these discussions could begin among the directly-related parties once the DPRK has disabled its existing nuclear facilities, has provided a complete and correct declaration of all of its nuclear programs, and is clearly on the road to complete denuclearization. We can achieve a permanent peace arrangement on the Korean Peninsula once the DPRK fully discloses and abandons its nuclear weapons program. The United States will continue to support efforts to build better relations between the countries of Northeast Asia through the Six-Party Talks and other appropriate mechanisms. We hope that implementation of both the inter-Korean Joint Declaration and full implementation of the September 2005 Six-Party Joint Statement will lead to better relations between the two Koreas, a transformed Northeast Asia, and better lives for all the people of the Korean Peninsula. RICE