U.N. to Condemn 'Attack' On Ship

 

By JOE LAURIA

UNITED NATIONS—The United Nations Security Council is expected Friday to formally condemn the sinking of a South Korean warship, with a carefully worded statement that avoids directly blaming North Korea or imposing penalties on it.

The product of a month of wrangling, the statement bears China's imprint, according to diplomats familiar with the negotiations. But it appears to represent a late-hour linguistic, if not diplomatic, victory for the United States.

The statement, which is to be read by the council president at a open meeting at the U.N. on Friday morning, will "condemn" the sinking of South Korea's Cheonan warship near the North Korean border in March.

"The Security Council deplores the attack" and "determines that such an incident endangers peace and security in the region and beyond," says the statement, which was reviewed by the The Wall Street Journal.

A U.S. official said Washington was pleased with the statement because it was a "clear condemnation" of the March 26 attack that killed 46 South Korean sailors.

Chinese, North Korean and South Korean officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to diplomats familiar with the negotiations, the language marks a shift from China, which until as recently as this week objected to including the words "condemn" or "attack," preferring to call the sinking an "incident" and "event." That left the council with little room for wording a document that required the consensus of all 15 members.

In early June, following an international investigation that blamed the sinking on North Korea, South Korea asked the Security Council to condemn the attack, and demand an apology and compensation from Pyongyang. China, a Security Council permanent member, rejected the last two conditions, say diplomats familiar with the negotiations.

In an apparent compromise with Beijing, the statement also avoids directly blaming North Korea. Instead, it refers to the international investigation that concluded that North Korea had deliberately torpedoed the Cheonan.

"In view of the findings of the Joint Civilian-Military Investigation Group led by the ROK with the participation of five nations, which concluded that the DPRK was responsible for sinking the Cheonan, the Security Council expresses its deep concern," the statement said. "Therefore, the Security Council condemns the attack which led to the sinking of the Cheonan."

Without naming the North, it "calls for appropriate and peaceful measures to be taken against those responsible for the incident."

President Barack Obama became directly involved in the negotiations over the Security Council statement, having what he called a "blunt" talk about it with President Hu Jintao at the Group of 20 summit last month.

Mr. Obama had called for the Security Council to send a "crystal clear" message to the North. He said that China had demonstrated "willful blindness" to "consistent problems" coming from the North.

The statement ignores the threat by North Korea, which vowed to go to war in a "do-or-die battle" if the Security Council reacted to the incident.

Write to Joe Lauria at newseditor@wsj.com

 

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