Originally posted by huaqing:
I recently realized that there is actually diplomatic relations between the Republic of Singapore and North Korea. How good do you think the relations of Singapore and Pyongyang is?
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Adapted from website Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore:
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Diplomatic Relations established on: 8 November 1975
Chancery 7500 Beach Road
#09-320 The Plaza
Singapore 199591
Telephone 64403498
Fax 63482026
Office Hours Mon - Fri
9.00 am - 12 noon
2.00 pm - 6.00 pm
National Day The Day of Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
9 September
Trade Section
Address 371 Beach Road, #16-05 Keypoint
Singapore 199597
Telephone 63920784
Fax 63920789
E-mail [email protected]
Office Hours Mon - Fri
9.00 am - 12 noon
2.00 pm - 6.00 pm
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
1. His Excellency Ji Jae Suk
Mdm Kwon Ok Nyo
Counsellor
2. Mr Hong Won Jun
Mdm Kim In Hwa
Trade Commissioner
3. Mr Kim Kyong Chol
Mdm Ryu Kyong Suk
Second Secretary
4. Mr Yun Hye Chol
Mdm Pak Ye Jin
Third Secretary
5. Mr Pak Ryong Ryon
Mdm Kim Myong Hwa
6. Mr Kim Hi Jae
Mdm Choe Sun Im[/b]
The United States' envoy to talks on North Korea's nuclear program offered the strongest warning yet to North Korea's non-nuclear neighbors not to pursue a nuclear weapons program in the wake of Pyongyang's apparent nuclear test earlier this week.
"We also need to continue to work together, first of all, to make clear to our partners and allies that nobody needs to consider their own nuclear arsenal," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Christopher Hill said today in a speech at the National Press Club.
"The United States remains treaty bound, morally bound to provide for the security of other countries, of our allies. And so no country needs to consider making a decision in the direction of considering a nuclear option," Hill added.
North Korea's unconfirmed nuclear test has upset the balance of power in Northeast Asia. Officials and analysts worry that the test will set off an arms race in the region, with North Korea's non-nuclear neighbors pursuing their own nuclear weapons.
If Japan develops nuclear weapons, it will leave South Korea as the only country in the region without them. Chung-in Moon, once a top advisor to the South Korean government, told ABC News that if Japan starts a nuclear weapons program, South Korea would likely do so as well.
The U.S. government has yet to determine whether North Korea actually conducted a nuclear weapons test. Seismic readings from the blast location are consistent with a large unnatural explosion, and sources told ABC News that additional preliminary tests suggest that the North Korean test was a nuclear test, but the sources cautioned that the results are not definitive.
While some say the explosion may have been a large conventional weapons explosion, others think an explosion of that size was more likely a weak, or failed, nuclear explosion.
Although the test may have been a fizzle rather than a full explosion, Princeton University astrophysicist Christopher Chyba said that this type of explosion could still create a stadium-sized crater ¡ª one that would be devastating if it were to land in an urban area.
Hill's comments come as the United States is pursuing aggressive sanctions against North Korea in the United Nations Security Council designed to coerce North Korea into giving up its nuclear weapons program.
The Security Council is expected to vote Saturday on a resolution banning large weapons shipments, luxury goods imports and freezing any assets related to North Korea's weapons programs.
The United States had pushed for stronger sanctions, but eventually watered the resolution down to appease China and Russia, who feared that tougher sanctions might only make the situation worse.
Nevertheless, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told reporters today that the Security Council's ability to pass a sanctions resolution within a week was "a sign of the determination of the council in the face of this threat to move quickly."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to Asia on Tuesday to push for enforcement of the resolution.
"She is going to be talking about the passage of that resolution certainly, but really what comes after it," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
"She is going to be talking about how to go about actually implementing that resolution," he added.
Rice will have stops in Japan, South Korea and China. State Department officials say a stop in Moscow is also possible before Rice returns to Washington. Assistant Secretary Hill will depart a few days before Rice and will attend the meetings as well.
