Calls for countries to cut off ties with North Korea may infringe on sovereignty

Posted on : 2016-10-01 17:53 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
US instructed embassies around the world to ask host governments to “downgrade or sever diplomatic and economic ties
North Korean media are releasing images of flood damage
North Korean media are releasing images of flood damage

Remarks from the US State Department this week suggested it may be an infringement of sovereignty and international principle for Washington to call on other countries to downgrade or break off diplomatic ties with North Korea.

When asked during a regular briefing on Sep. 29 whether he could confirm that the US government had asked other countries to break off diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, department spokesperson John Kirby said he was “not aware of any such effort to do that.”

Both the questioner and Kirby appeared unaware of comments made during a congressional hearing the day before by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel, who said the US had “instructed our embassies around the world to ask host governments to condemn the test and take further additional actions to downgrade or sever diplomatic and economic ties.”

But Kirby went on to suggest that requesting that a third country sever diplomatic ties could be seen as an infringement of sovereignty.

“Those are sovereign decisions that countries make in terms of who they’re going to have diplomatic relations with and who they’re not,” he said. The nuance of his comments was that even though the subject was North Korea, the US government would not have gone as far as to violate principles on the issue.

Indeed, Kirby appeared to draw the line further with regard to the issue of asking countries to sever their diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.

“This is we are focused, working with other nations on trying to ratchet up the pressure to hold the North more accountable for those provocative activities,” he said. “I can assure you that’s where our energies are being spent, largely inside the UN.”

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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