North Korean crisis to go before UN

The UN nuclear watchdog is ”almost certain” to refer the North Korean nuclear dispute to the Security Council this week, a South Korean official said today.

The board of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the dispute over North Korea’s nuclear activities.

“It is almost certain that it will refer it to the UN Security Council,” Chun Young-woo, director general for international organisations at the Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press.

The Security Council could consider economic and political sanctions against North Korea to pressure it to drop its nuclear development. North Korea has warned that economic sanctions amount to a declaration of war.

If the matter goes to the Security Council, it would constitute a diplomatic victory for the US.

Washington wants to deal with North Korea on a multilateral basis, while the North says the nuclear dispute can only be resolved in direct US-North Korean talks.

North Korea wants a non-aggression treaty as well as economic aid from the US.