Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee condemns North Korea for ship sinking
Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement after a commission of investigators unanimously concluded last week that North Korea was responsible for the sinking of a South Korean naval ship in March.
“The government of South Korea and a group of international experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other nations conducted a meticulous investigation into the cause of the sinking, and they unanimously concluded that North Korea was responsible for this heinous act,” Berman said. “This unprovoked and deliberate attack was a clear violation of the Korean War Armistice.”
Berman cosponsored and strongly supported the swift passage of H. Res. 1382, a House resolution expressing sympathy to the families of the South Korean sailors killed in the sinking, and condemning North Korea in the strongest possible terms for the attack.
“The international community must respond to Pyongyang’s belligerence by enforcing current U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea and considering the enactment of new multilateral and bilateral measures,” Berman added. “I strongly support South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s decision to cut off trade with North Korea, ban North Korean ships from South Korean waters, and refer this matter to the U.N. Security Council.”
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According to Reuters, North Korea issued a statement condemning South Korea (there is no mentioning of South's accusations of sinking its ship by the North). The following are key points from the text issued by the North's KCNA news agency:
"The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, accordingly, formally declares that from now on it will put into force the resolute measures to totally freeze the inter-Korean relations, totally abrogate the agreement on non-aggression between the north and the south and completely halt the inter-Korean cooperation.
"In this connection, the following measures will be taken at the first phase:
"1. All relations with the puppet authorities will be severed.
"2. There will be neither dialogue nor contact between the authorities during (South Korean President) Lee Myung Bak's tenure of office.
"3. The work of the Panmunjom Red Cross liaison representatives will be completely suspended.
"4. All communication links between the north and the south will be cut off.
"5. The Consultative Office for North-South Economic Cooperation in the Kaesong Industrial Zone will be frozen and dismantled and all the personnel concerned of the south side will be expelled without delay.
"6. We will start all-out counterattack against the puppet group's 'psychological warfare against the north.'
"7. The passage of south Korean ships and airliners through the territorial waters and air of our side will be totally banned.
"8. All the issues arising in the inter-Korean relations will be handled under a wartime law.
"There is no need to show any mercy or patience for such confrontation maniacs, sycophants and traitors and wicked warmongers as the (South Korean President) Lee Myung Bak group."
U.S. Congress; House
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