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North Korea got mention in the G8 declaration that came out of meetings at Camp David this week. But we were pleasantly surprised that the statement went beyond the nuclear and missile issues and renewed commitment to the sanctions regime. It also included specific mention not only of abductions—in line with Japanese interests—but political prisoners as well.
Although it is a small gesture, it is nice to see Russia on board. The gesture also effectively isolates China among the Five Parties; needless to say, Beijing is completely silent on such issues.
As recently as December, Russia voted against a UN General Assembly resolution deploring the human rights situation in North Korea. Just to give you a sense of the company kept, the other “no” voters included: Algeria, Belarus, China, Cuba, the DPRK, Egypt, Iran, Myanmar, Oman, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe. Nice company. Russia also voted against the Iran resolution, but at least abstained on Syria.
From the declaration:
33. We continue to have deep concerns about provocative actions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that threaten regional stability. We remain concerned about the DPRK's nuclear program, including its uranium enrichment program. We condemn the April 13, 2012, launch that used ballistic missile technology in direct violation of UNSC resolution. We urge the DPRK to comply with its international obligations and abandon all nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. We call on all UN member states to join the G-8 in fully implementing the UNSC resolutions in this regard. We affirm our will to call on the UN Security Council to take action, in response to additional DPRK acts, including ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests. We remain concerned about human rights violations in the DPRK, including the situation of political prisoners and the abductions issue.
