Kofi: North Korea Not A Security Threat

In light of today's news of North Korea's blustering claims to be removing fuel rods from its reactor, saying it is "necessary to bolster [our] nuclear arsenal," this from yesterday's UN press briefing is particularly interesting:

Question: Yes. Would the Secretary-General consider a North Korean nuclear test a threat to international peace and security?

Associate Spokesperson: I don’t have anything new on the Secretary-General’s pronouncements on North Korea today; unless he spoke about it in Geneva. But, I know that, as recently as in the recent visits to Asia, in which he went to both New Delhi and in the Asian-African summit in Jakarta, when he was asked, he has been a proponent of the six-party talks to get back on track. So, that has been his consistent position on that. If there is anything further from today, I’ll let you know.

Hmmmmm.

NEW YORK -- Following yesterday's explosion of North Korean nuclear bombs in Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama, the UN recommended that five-party talks continue. Following is a statement attributed to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan:

"While we value the participation of Japan in the six-party talk process, especially their dedication to keeping the talks on track, after careful consideration, we have determined that since their great nation is now burnt toast, it would best further the peace process to have five-party talks continue.

"The Democratic Republic of North Korea has taken regrettable actions to stall these talks, but Mr. Kim Il Jung has expressed his commitment to peace and understanding. This is a positive sign that indicates there is hope the six ... uh, five-party talks can achieve their goal of containing the DRNK nuclear threat."

Meanwhile, the UN announced today that it has formed a committee to establish preliminary guidelines for establishing a committee to consider appropriate UN funding methods for responding to this crisis. The committee, headed by the UN ambassadors of Syria and Iran, is currently working out the details necessary to call its first meeting, which is expect to occur by year-end.

Update. (And back to reality) Also from yesterday's press briefing; I am not kidding:

Question: Would the Secretary-General consider a decision by Iran to resume enrichment activities a threat to international peace and security?

Associate Spokesperson: I don’t have anything on that. I’ll have to get back to you after the briefing. Yes, Mark?